A cross-cultural comparison on students' perceptions towards online learning

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore cross-country (Taiwan versus India) differences in students' perceptions of online leaning by gender. The self-reported instrument, POSTOL (Perception of Students towards Online Learning), was conducted to the students from Taiwan and India. Of the total 441 respondents, there were 233 students from India and 208 from Taiwan. A 2×2 between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance was employed on the four dimensions of the POSTOL scale. This scale consists of four dimensions: instructor characteristics, social presence, instructional design, and trust. Results showed that there were significant differences, between India and Taiwan, in the perception of students towards online learning. However, there was no significant interaction effect of country by gender. Findings indicated that culture did influence students' perceptions towards online learning. There is a need to raise awareness about factors that may affect online learning experience and to provide guidance and for practice and future work.