Factors Influencing the Electronic Textbooks Adoption in Tanzanian High Schools

Aim: Despite the availability of electronic textbooks via mobile device applications in Tanzania, students in high schools are still adopting them slowly for their day-to-day studies. From the literature reviewed, no study has examined the influencing factors for adopting e-textbooks at this level of education in Tanzania. Therefore, this study, in particular, fills that gap by extending the UTAUT model's key constructs of Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, and Facilitating Conditions to include the type of school (private or public) as a new moderating variable in predicting the adoption of electronic textbooks in Tanzania.

Methodology: The study employed survey research designs and strategies to collect data via questionnaires from 370 respondents using simple, stratified, proportional random sampling procedures. To test the validity, publishing and research professionals were consulted. For instrument reliability, a Cronbach value from 0.858 to 0.863 was achieved. A 0.05 threshold of significance was applied to evaluate the study hypotheses.

Findings: Effort Expectancy (.506 (95% CI:.404,.607)), Social Influence (.129 (95% CI:.046,.212), and Facilitating Conditions (.273 (95% CI:.167,.379) significantly and positively influenced the adoption of e-textbooks. The type of school negatively moderated the relationship between Facilitating Conditions and BI to electronic textbook adoption (-.211 (95% CI: -.361 to -.061)). Through the multi-regression technique, the interactions revealed differences in private and public-school students’ BI towards e-textbook adoption, where private scholars signify more effect than public schools. In particular, this study's findings are a stepping stone for students, teachers, app developers, e-textbook publishers, school administration, and policymakers to adopt electronic textbooks.

Recommendation: With these findings, the government, school administration, and e-textbook developers should improve the e-textbook adoption infrastructure and distribution by providing user-friendly platforms and services that effortlessly and quickly fulfil the expectations of high school students.