Factors Influencing Learning Management Systems Use Among Lecturers in Ghanaian Higher Education Institutions

The Covid-19 destruction cannot be undone but the pandemic also created novel opportunities. Digitization of teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through the introduction of digital platforms like Learning Management Systems (LMS) received unprecedented attention and funding. However, the developmental gains depend on the LMS’s continued use by both lecturers and students. The utilization of LMSs for teaching and learning by lecturers in Ghanaian HEIs is low and related research is limited. Therefore, this paper reports on an investigation into the factors influencing the usage of LMSs by lecturers in Ghana using a qualitative interpretive approach to improve LMS adoption. Data was collected through focus group discussions with lecturers across four HEIs and analyzed thematically using Atlas.ti. When compared with LMS adoption factors from literature the findings revealed previously unidentified contextual factors affecting the use of LMSs among lecturers. This study contributes to addressing the gap in LMS studies on Ghana and makes a novel contribution by highlighting the influence of environmental and financial factors on LMS usage and the implications of students’ financial status, physical location, classroom infrastructure, and accommodating diversity in religious traditions as factors influencing LMS use. These findings highlight digital technology’s potential to distribute access more equitably but also to increase inequality. Therefore, an understanding of contextual factors and policy implications’ impact on the inclusiveness of digital transformation in the Global South is critical. Attention to these factors could improve the use of LMSs towards harnessing the developmental benefits as intended.