E-learning behavioral intention among college students: A comparative study

With the explosive growth of various applications on the Internet, higher education institutions have advocated distance learning courses, making research on online learning increasingly important. This study attempts to emphasize the characteristics of instruction in online learning systems, using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Two groups of learners were targeted: those who had taken online education courses for more than one semester (more experienced) and those who had just started with less than two weeks of course experience (less experienced). Two benchmark models of “learner behavioral intentions in online learning” were constructed and tested for stability and invariance using structural equation modeling. The findings show that the covariance matrices of the participating groups and cross-group samples in online learning demonstrated invariance. Finally, the study suggests that educational institutions and e-learning platform developers should focus resources on key factors that enhance user acceptance and satisfaction. The study stresses the importance of consistently meeting learners’ fundamental needs for ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, regardless of their changing specific needs. Therefore, e-learning platforms can cater to a wide range of learners, thereby improving the educational landscape.