Learning Continuity during COVID-19: An Analysis of the Higher Education Sector of Bangladesh

Authors

  • Debarshi Mukherjee Jamia Millia Islamia University, Department of Commerce and Business Studies, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9039-0329
  • Khandakar Kamrul Hasan Department of Business Management, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2462-1165

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2023.1.650.671

Keywords:

online learning, learning continuity, behavioural intention, higher education, Bangladesh

Abstract

Aim. This study aims to understand the factors determining university students’ behavioural intentions toward online learning in Bangladesh. Specifically, this study investigates the relationship between performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), facilitating conditions (FC), and behavioural intention (BI). Moreover, this study explores the influence of pandemic fear (PF) as a moderator in the relationship between exogenous and endogenous factors.

Methods. The study is cross-sectional and followed a quantitative research approach with purposive sampling. Data were collected at a single point using a sample size of 578 respondents who studied online during the various phases of lockdown at five public and five private universities in Bangladesh. Regarding multivariate analysis, the Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is applied in this study to test the causal relationships in the structural model, as it is considered a second-generation technique.

Results. Statistically, a positive significance was found between PE, EE, SI, and BI in online learning participation. Whereas the FC and the BI exhibited a negative relationship, a positive relationship was found between PE, EE, and the SI on BI. In addition, a moderating role for PF was investigated, and EE and FC were found to influence BI significantly.

Conclusion. This study presents an extended UTAUT model by integrating pandemic fear as the moderator to study students' behavioural intention to adopt an online learning system under a disruptive situation. Practitioners, especially academicians and policymakers, will find this model useful while developing andragogic interventions for the higher education sector in Bangladesh.  

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Author Biographies

  • Debarshi Mukherjee, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Department of Commerce and Business Studies, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025, India

    Professor of Business Management in the Department of Commerce and Business Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. He is the former Head of the Department of Business Management at Tripura University (A Central University) and the founding Head (i/c) of the Department of Tourism Administration. Having specialized in the information systems domain, his research interest lies in developing blended learning models to realize the objective of Education 4.0 and ICT intervention in tertiary education, ensuring learning continuity. Besides teaching and academic administration, he has worked extensively in curricula design and Innovative Andragogy Development over the last two decades. His endeavor in research has earned him over 100 publications to his credit.

  • Khandakar Kamrul Hasan, Department of Business Management, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India

    International Research Scholar from Bangladesh in the Department of Business Management at Tripura University (A Central University), Tripura, India. His research interest is online learning, learning continuity, blended learning, design thinking, etc.

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Published

2023-06-20

Issue

Section

LOCAL CULTURES AND SOCIETIES

How to Cite

Mukherjee, D., & Hasan, K. K. (2023). Learning Continuity during COVID-19: An Analysis of the Higher Education Sector of Bangladesh. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 14(1), 650-671. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2023.1.650.671