Abstract:
This study aimed to gain insight into the psychological factors that influence m-learning usage
among students with disability (SwD) enrolled at an open distance and e-learning (ODeL)
institution (UNISA) during the year of 2023. An unexplored area in the literature regarding mlearning
use amongst SwD hinders this HE institution in effectively designing both educational
material and technological solutions for SwD. This highlights a challenge in UNISA’s ability
to support SwD and presents a problem in developing effective e-learning tools which include
these students. This study aimed to contribute knowledge in this area in order to promote
educational equity for SwD. Using an adapted TAM, a quantitative research method was
applied, which made use of an online, non-experimental cross-sectional survey to investigate
m-learning use, the prevalence of m-learning and to examine the relationship between mlearning
use and the psychological constructs of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of
use (PEOU), perceived behavioural control (PBC) and attitude. Given the prolific nature of
TAM, its use in educational settings and its flexibility, it was chosen as the basis of the
theoretical framework of this study. In order to answer the research questions, data from the
research instrument was analysed in SPSS using two frequency analyses, a Spearman's Rho
correlation, and two Kruskal-Wallis tests. Although TAM is widely used to understand
technology use, its application in m-learning contexts, especially among SwD in ODeL,
remains largely unexplored. Results indicate the majority of respondents reported using mlearning
either daily or weekly (90.5%; n = 199). Further results revealed no significant
relationship between m-learning use and PBC, PEOU or attitude. A significant correlation was,
however, found between m-learning use and PU. These results bring to the fore the importance
of emphasising the benefits of m-learning in educational settings to enhance SwD’s perception
of its usefulness, thereby encouraging greater adoption and integration into their learning
routines. Furthermore, the significance of PU indicates that this psychological construct is of
the utmost importance for this population of students and that future technology acceptance
models would do well to use PU as a basis, excluding PEOU, PBC and attitude. Additionally,
results revealed no significant difference between m-learning use and type of disability or mlearning
device used. This implies that educational institutions and policymakers can adopt a
versatile approach to m-learning implementation for SwD, accommodating a variety of devices
to students with various types of disabilities.
