Institutional and learner readiness for eLearning in the Maldives

Abstract

For Maldives, an island nation consisting of over 1190 islands, eLearning is the ideal form of delivery for higher education students on the 200 inhabited islands. This study explores Maldivian college students’ and their institutes’ eLearning readiness. Mixed methods research has been conducted using two questionnaires (one for the students and one for the lecturers) and semi-structured interviews. One hundred and eleven students from two private higher education institutes completed the questionnaires, 10 students were selected for interviews out of which 9 completed the interview. Students’ technological skills, access to technology and learning abilities, as well as their level of eLearning efficacy, are measured and further explored through interviews. Their lifestyle and family and workplace environments’ conduciveness for eLearning is explored. Similarly, 45 lecturers completed the questionnaire to obtain lecturers’ and institutes’ readiness for online teaching. The responses from the questionnaires allow exploration of Maldivian higher education students and institutes’ readiness for eLearning. Lecturers’ readiness is assessed by their skills and abilities to support eLearning students. Readiness of institutes are explored using semi-structured interviews with 2 senior staff from each college. The role of the three elements of the Community of Inquiry Framework: Cognitive Presence, Teaching Presence and Social Presence, in eLearning, is also explored through questionnaires and interviews. The research study’s findings are significant as it is the first research in the Maldives to provide such a case in support of eLearning readiness in higher education. The research study supports the transferability of the findings to comparable colleges and student populations in the Maldives.