A model for social media in higher education institutions of Pakistan

Abstract

The social media is being considered an important source in the perspective of academic learning in the educational sector. The scope of learning through the social media encompasses broadening information sharing through collaborative approach with the help of web-based social networking sites as the means to enhance the knowledge of co-workers, colleagues and others. Due to large scale penetration of social media among youngsters, it is being perceived as one of the futuristic approaches for next generation’s knowledge sharing and academic learning. On one hand, learning through the social media has attained an important value in developed economies but on the other, real benefits and future implications have not been interpreted and realized in developing economies like Pakistan. Educational institutes in Pakistan need to evaluate and understand the importance and the usage of social networking for the sake of its valued role in academia. Although research communities in the developing countries are paying attention towards the development of this sector in academia Pakistan has a long way to go in this regard. This study explores the significant factors which affect the delayed acceptance and usage of the social media for academic learning purpose. This research proposes an integrated framework including some widely accepted technology models such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) to determine significant factors. This research used the network analysis approach to observe the users’ behavior towards different social media application usage. The proposed conceptual model was determined by seven factors, which included intention to accept social media in education, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, relevance, self-efficacy, compatibility and complexity. The model was tested on a sample of 350 students using social media in higher education institutions. Using SPSS, AMOS and R-project software data analysis show considerable support for the extended hypothesized model. The consideration of factors that have significant influence on the acceptance of the social media in higher education institutions of Pakistan and the network analysis show that few applications are being used heavily compared to all other applications. As identified in this research, it is important for the students in the educational sector, especially in developing countries, to increase wider acceptance and use of the technology which provide benefits for both faculty and students.