A Study of the Attitude of Undergraduate Students Towards E-Learning

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the attitude of undergraduate students towards e-learning and to investigate differences in their attitudes on the basis of gender and academic stream. The survey method was employed for the study. The population of the study comprised students enrolled in the B.A. and B.Sc. fifth semester in colleges affiliated with Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, located in the Shahjahanpur metropolitan area. A total of 250 students were selected from five colleges through the lottery method. The sample consisted of 134 male students and 116 female students, including 141 students from the Arts stream and 109 students from the Science stream.

For data collection, the standardized 30-item E-Learning Scale developed by Dr. Mahesh Kumar Muchhal was used. The collected data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, standard error of the mean, and t-test. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female students in their attitude towards e-learning, as the obtained t-value of 1.57 was lower than the table value of 1.96 at the 0.05 level of significance. In contrast, a significant difference was found between students belonging to the Arts and Science streams. The obtained t-value of 3.76 was higher than the table value of 1.96. On the basis of mean scores, students from the Science stream were found to have a more positive attitude towards e-learning than students from the Arts stream.

The study highlights the need to promote the effective use of e-learning in higher education and to develop greater awareness, interest, and engagement with digital learning among students, particularly those belonging to the Arts stream.