THE EQUITY OF PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES IN E-LEARNING INITIATIVES IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abstract

The slow adoption of e-learning in Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been attributed to many Information Technology (IT) success factors or factors related to the management of IT. While many researchers were able to identify legitimate factors that have an impact on the adoption of e-learning, the impact of the cultural factors has not been thoroughly studied. The HEIs in the UAE have implemented e-learning solutions developed in Western countries. When these e-learning solutions are used without any cultural pedagogical consideration, they are creating inequitable learning conditions for UAE students. This case study aimed to investigate the role of the western-oriented culture e-learning pedagogy on the adoption of e-learning among UAE female students. Data was collected qualitatively from interviews with colleagues who are using western-oriented cultural pedagogies in their e-learning classes. A pattern matching technique was used to analyse the collected data. The cultural constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) were used as a lens to guide this study. The findings revealed the impact of the western-oriented pedagogy of Blackboard Learn (BBLearn) on the slow adoption of e-learning in the researchers' department. This study confirmed the importance of the local UAE culture on the adoption of e-learning and calls for further studies in that domain.