A context-sensitive usability framework for the selection and evaluation of learning management systems in higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ghana have deployed learning management systems (LMSs) as a means of addressing the growing number of student enrolments and the consequential stress on physical facilities. LMS adoption can improve student satisfaction and performance, lower student dropout rates, reduce the cost of providing study materials and facilitate the sharing of learning resources among stakeholders. Unfortunately, LMS adoption rates in HEIs across Ghana are low. This study investigated the factors influencing LMS acceptance among academics in Ghana. Usability has been identified as a factor limiting adoption; however, usability evaluations of these systems are rarely conducted with potential users before implementation. Moreover, the extant literature provides little guidance on the factors influencing LMS adoption in Ghana, suitable methods for evaluating LMS usability in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contexts or the development of context-specific evaluation frameworks. The study addressed the following research question: How can a context-sensitive evaluation framework for LMSs in HEIs be developed? Based on a pragmatic philosophical viewpoint, this empirical research adopted a Design Science Research (DSR) approach. The framework was developed through a critical review of the literature on usability evaluation methods for LMSs in HEIs and the components of usability evaluation frameworks relevant to SSA contexts. Factors influencing LMS adoption in Ghana, from the perspective of academics, were identified through qualitative thematic analysis of focus group discussions involving academics from four HEIs. The influence of usability on LMS adoption was confirmed using PLS-SEM analysis involving 255 academics from the same institutions. The framework was subsequently validated through structured interviews with 20 usability experts across SSA. The study makes a theoretical contribution by confirming the influence of human, organisational, social, LMS-related, environmental and financial factors on LMS usage in Ghana, and makes a novel contribution by identifying students’ financial status, physical location, classroom infrastructure and the accommodation of religious diversity as context-specific factors influencing LMS use in Ghana. Another theoretical contribution lies in integrating factors from the technology adoption literature (attitude–acceptance) with those from the usability literature (behaviour–acceptance) to confirm the influence of usability on the sustainable adoption of LMSs in Ghana. These contributions are consolidated into a validated, context-sensitive framework for selecting LMSs before adoption and for evaluating LMS usability post-adoption in HEIs across SSA. The practical contribution is that industry and organisations developing LMSs can consult the framework during system design, while HEI managers can use it to evaluate systems before making procurement decisions.