Adoption of blended learning methods in Ugandan universities: a case of School of Statistics and Planning Makerere University

Abstract

The current research was set out to assess the adoption of blended learning methods considering the school of statistics and planning, Makerere University as the case study. This research study sought to determine the prevalence, factors associated with the adoption of blended learning methods and its effect on students’ performance. The research focus was centered on how socio-demographic characteristics are associated with the adoption of blended learning methods and whether ownership of an electronic device has an effect on the adoption of blended learning methods and the effect of adoption of blended learning methods on students’ performance. A quantitative approach utilized a cross-sectional survey to gather primary data from the students of school of statistics and planning at Makerere University. The sample size was 103 questionnaires which were answered by the respondents using google forms. Sampling method used was stratified. Hypothesis testing was done using ANOVA at 1%, 5% and 5% significance and the Pearson’s chi-square test statistic which was used to test the association between variables of interest. A multinomial regression model was then carried out. The collected data was analyzed using a statistical package known as SPSS 23 software. The results showed that there’s no significant impact of socio-demographic characteristics or ownership of an electronic device on choosing a BL method i.e. adoption of blended learning methods. There’s no statistical significance of the full model (containing all the predictors) which indicates that there’s no significant improvement over the null model. Findings from this study concluded that there’s no significant relationship between ownership of an electronic device and BL method used but there’s a significant relationship between gender, type of sponsorship and BL method used. The model exhibited goodness of fit and there’s significance for all the predictors. Findings from this study provided insights on the attitude towards adoption of BL methods and its practical contribution that includes knowledge which can be incorporated into the e-learning training modules to address low adoption of blended learning Blended learning interventions should be appropriately and thoroughly measured, evaluated by participants, and analyzed by the teaching and production team.