Factors Influencing Diffusion of E-Learning Systems by Students in Kenya’s Higher Education

The purpose of this study is twofold. First is an attempt to investigate the role of the relevance of e-Learning systems to studies in acceptance of the technology by higher education students. The second was to test the relation of this variable with the TAM model constructs namely usefulness and ease of use. A cross-sectional survey design was undertaken. The target group came from degree students from various background of study in the public and private universities in Kenya. Structural equation model was used for fit and validation of the research model while regression analysis was used to investigate the relation between the variables in the model. The results of the study show that perceived usefulness and relevance to studies together explain powerfully what influences e-Learning systems acceptance. Of special interest is the finding of the significance of the relevance variable, not only because of its strong impact on technology acceptance, but also for its effect on perceived usefulness. At the same time, this study found that perceived ease of use was not a key determinant for acceptance nor for perceived usefulness. Finally, the causal relation between relevance to studies, accessibility to ICTs, Exposure to ICTs , perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use was analyzed and we found that the first three affects both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of and not one of them as many studies suggest. From insights coming from TAM and relevance model, this paper provides university administrators, practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of higher education students adoption of e-Learning, and more specifically the insights gained in the role of the relevance variable in the e-Learning acceptance contex