Distance education students’ acceptance of online learning systems, attitudes towards online learning and their self-directed learning skills

Abstract

About four million people living in Turkey or abroad with a Turkish passport enrolled in distance education schools to have the opportunity to complete their compulsory formal education in the spring of 2018-19. The aim of this descriptive study was to determine distance education students’ acceptance of online learning systems, their attitudes towards online learning, and their self-directed learning skills and the relationship between them. The study group consisted of 1233 students in the spring term of 2018-2019. Some of the main results are as follows: A six-variable model (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, general acceptance, individual awareness, usefulness, application effectiveness) played a significantly explanatory role in dependent variables (subscales of self-directed learning skills). Perceived usefulness and usefulness positively predicted motivation, suggesting that the higher the perceived usefulness, the higher the motivation. General acceptance and application effectiveness negatively predicted self-monitoring. Female participants were more motivated by online learning environments than males.