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Abstract
While higher education institutions in developing countries aspire to integrate a VLE in their curriculum, some studies assert that VLE-based e-learning initiatives in developing countries often fail partially, if not, totally. Apparently, literature seems exhaustive in this topic but much has been conducted in developed countries. Little has been consistently known about VLE adoption in developing country context, such as regional public higher education institutions. This study seeks to explore the local contextual influences of VLE adoption in a regional public university in the Philippines. To accomplish this, an interpretivist case study investigation was conducted.
Qualitative data was gathered through interviews of 28 teachers, organisational records and field notes. Results show that various factors combine to influence the teachers’ adoption decision. This study shows that VLE adoption can not only be attributed to the individual, organisational and technological factors. Instead, there are more deeply rooted socio-cultural influences of VLE adoption revealed in this study, such as, the ‘bahala na’ attitude and the ‘bayanihan’ culture. ‘Bahala na’ is an attitude in decision-making that subjugates all actions to fate regardless of the circumstances of the people receiving the decision. This kind of attitude was manifested when the VLE was implemented regardless of the circumstances of potential adopters in the field resulting to difficulties that contributed to the marginal adoption. ‘Bahala na’ is a fatalistic attitude that negatively affected the adoption of the VLE. On the other hand, ‘bayanihan’ is a Filipino trait that depicts communal spirit that makes a seemingly impossible task become possible. The adoption of the VLE is reflective of a difficult task. Despite this, a small group of teachers were able to adopt the VLE through ‘bayanihan’.
Finally, the overarching contribution of this study is the systematic qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural influences of VLE adoption beyond diffusion of innovations and cultural dimensions. This study revealed two interesting and significant socio-cultural factors that are equally important as the other previously known factors. The broader implication is that there are local contextual factors that are crucial in the adoption process and failure to consider these may jeopardise an educational technology initiative.