Identifying and prioritizing effective factors of e-learning effectiveness

using hierarchical analysis in the Ministry of Education in Iran

Identificación y énfasis de factores efectivos de efectividad del e-learning mediante

análisis jerárquico en el Ministerio de Educación iraní

Kiarash Yazdanfar

1a

, Jafar Beikzad

2

, Gholamreza Rahimi

3

4

Recibido: 12 de marzo de 2020 Aceptado: 15 de noviembre de 2020

Abstract

The purpose of present study was to identify and prioritize the effective factors of electronic

learning effectiveness in the Ministry of Education of Iran, using a hierarchical analysis and

through a descriptive-survey method. The statistical population of present study included

managers and experts of Education Organization and a sample of professors with Ph.D. in

Educational Sciences as well as experience of teaching in electronic training. Therefore,

purposeful non-random sampling method was used to select the sample size. The used tool was

a hurricane-thinking questionnaire. Indicators were organized as a questionnaire in the form of

Keywords: e-learning, individual characteristics, organizational characteristics, infrastructure.

Resumen

El propósito del presente estudio fue identificar y priorizar los factores efectivos de efectividad

del aprendizaje electrónico en el Ministerio de Educación de Irán, utilizando un análisis

jerárquico y mediante un método de encuesta descriptiva. La población estadística del presente

estudio incluyó a gerentes y expertos de Organización Educativa y una muestra de profesores

con Ph.D. en Ciencias de la Educación así como experiencia en la docencia en formación

electrónica. Por lo tanto, se utilizó un método de muestreo intencional no aleatorio para

a

Correspondencia al autor

ISSN: 2304-0335 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17162/au.v11i1.595

seleccionar el tamaño de la muestra. La herramienta utilizada fue un cuestionario de

pensamiento sobre huracanes. Los indicadores se organizaron como un cuestionario en forma

de escala Likert de 5 puntos y los factores efectivos de la eficacia del aprendizaje electrónico

se identificaron mediante la implementación de rondas posteriores. La fiabilidad de la

herramienta de investigación con 28 elementos se calculó igual a 0,88 utilizando el alfa de

Cronbach. El análisis de datos en la sección de identificación de factores efectivos de la

efectividad del e-learning se realizó utilizando el método Delphi y utilizando el software SPSS

y en la sección de priorización se realizó a través del método AHP utilizando el software Expert

time and spatial flexibility, combination of educational aspects and human factors in the

environment to reach final consumers in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes

(Brezavšček et al., 2014). Organizations consider investment in their employees' training to

develop their performance as a means of identifying skills, knowledge and competence, so that

such cases bring some advantages for an organization and it is difficult for its competitors to

imitate it (Ibrahim et al., 2011). It should be noted that the use of e-learning can provide the

basis for improving organizational performance when it is possible to provide effective

organizational structures for all employees at the beginning of this process.

provided (Al-Rahmi et al., 2015). The growing capabilities of web technologies and increasing

system reveal the need for conducting studies on identification of factors affecting the

effectiveness of e-learning and providing ways to measure the e-learning effectiveness (Fallon

learning at universities or on issues before implementing this type of training. In fact, the lack

organizations and the high importance of measuring educational effectiveness (Lo, 2014). The

indirectly involved with the subject of community education (Aydin & Tasci, 2005). Therefore,

is also very important (Bernard et al., 2004). In this regard, e-learning can be implemented

efficiently when it can ultimately take into account the various dimensions of effectiveness and

infrastructural factors. It is while that no effective research study has ever been conducted on

this field so that executive activities can be performed by relying on it. The main question of

present study is: can the dimensions of effective relationships be identified in Ministry of

Education due to the wide range of e-learning?

is conducted under the guidance of skilled attendants and aimed to develop the level of

knowledge, skills and behavioral patterns required by individuals to perform their work

activities with high level of performance (Anohina, 2005). In fact, education helps

keen on providing their skills through training. Understanding the various factors that promote

programs (Darzi, et al., 2012). In traditional education, educators are considered as an

petrochemical workers in Indonesia with the aim of comprising two types of virtual and

virtual education in the term of learning progress (Heidari et al., 2013). In interview with

employees, it became clear that they preferred traditional education to virtual education

(Ibrahim et al., 2011). Many researchers have investigated and comprised traditional teaching

methods as well as new methods of e-learning. Robert Bernard has studied the literature in this

area. In his study, Bernard reviewed the researches on issues such as traditional education and

distance education and presented methods and conceptual models of various scholars.

Although traditional and virtual training processes have become common in recent decades,

there are still differences between these two types of training. Larson (1996) has classified

traditional academic education as teacher-centered, coordinated and programmed, while

considered virtual learning as student-centered, inconsistent (in the term of time) and accessible

it with traditional training classes in the current situation. As the replacement of e-commerce

cannot replace retail markets, e-learning cannot replace the need for educator guidance,

specialist support, labs and college experiences (Hounsell et al., 2010). Factors such as course

content, presentation methods, software, hardware, and financial issues can only create a basic

environment for e-learning. In a general sense, students and educators are who determine the

success or failure of the implementation of education. Educational technologies have changed

a lot over the years. In this regard, it can be argued that each of the existing models of e-learning

has pointed to various aspects of effectiveness in the field of e-learning effectiveness. However,

the University of Nigeria. Specifically, this study was conducted on the relationship between

e-learning attitudes and e-learning using the Technology Acceptance Model (ATM) model. In

his study, Lister (2014) showed that there are four main considerations in the design of online

e-learning courses: a) the structure of course; b) providing content; c) collaboration and

about high-quality training principles. In a study entitled “Factor Structure Test of User-learn

(2013) have stated that usability assessment is an initial step to improve the status of e-learning

systems. Since there is no proper tool to fully measure this component in Iran, Faraji (2013)

conducted a study entitled "the role of e-learning in improving organizational performance"

and stated that e-learning has emerged in early 1990s with the advent of World Wide Web and

has grown rapidly with regard to the vast capabilities of web and today it has maintained its

place in the educational structure of many countries.

benefits for individuals, organizations and educational institutions. In the last century, the

definition of educational technology has undergone fundamental changes based on the ongoing

it was concluded that each of the components of results section have effect on virtual higher

stated that the effectiveness of virtual education course was favorable in the viewpoint of

opinions of faculty members and students showed that faculty members had more positive

learning and teaching methods has made it more satisfactory for students and faculty members

techniques and increase the quality of learning. Hence, it was recommended that this

combination is considered in medical universities of the country as an effective teaching

method.

with emphasis on the production of theory. Therefore, in this method, each piece of data should

subsequent data. These clues can come from underdeveloped categories, information gaps, or

people who have a good understanding of the phenomenon. In this regard ،for the qualitative

analysis of the collected data ،three stages of open ،axial and selective coding have to be done

analysis steps are as follows:

developed to identify concepts and expand them in terms of their properties and dimensions,

so that basic raw data on the phenomenon under study can be extracted from the raw data.

(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Open coding involves asking questions and making comparisons.

this step is to establish relationships between the classes generated in the open coding phase.

This is based on a paradigm model and helps the theorist to make the theory process easier.

The basis of the communication process in coding is based on the expansion of one of the

classes. Axial coding by linking a category and its subcategories link the data (Danaifard et al.,

identified around the axial phenomenon. These include the causal conditions (what factors lead

response to the pivotal phenomenon); the intervening conditions (the general contextual

conditions that influence the strategies); They are contextual (specific contextual conditions

categories are related to the axial phenomenon in the form of an image model known as the

model and makes theorems (or hypotheses) that relate the categories; Plano, 2007). Atlas

the first group are subject specialists and experienced teachers of e-learning and e-learning who

extract and identify e-learning indicators and variables and formulate an effective e-learning

model and model through interviewing. Sampling in this group was non-random, purposeful

and based on criteria. Twenty professors with a PhD degree with a history of attendance and

teaching participated in e-learning with papers and research available in the field available. For

quantitative study, the second group will train all managers (from expert to top) in Warthe.

Education in Tehran (staff of the Ministry of Education) with a total population of 140

statistical population, according to Morgan table, 100 people are selected by simple random

Table 2

country may not be able to benefit from some of these trainings. Utilizing e-learning can be

an effective step in implementing these courses in the organization. However, in order to

implement these courses, the necessary organizational, individual and environmental measures

must be prepared for the organization.

the effectiveness of e-learning. In fact, the main challenge of this discussion is that the

implementation of e-learning as a managerial decision certainly entails costs for the

organization, which can lead to a particularly important challenge for managers in increasing

costs without any return if the effective aspects of this measure are not taken into consideration;

of e-learning in the Ministry of Education.

technology in educational concepts. Implementation of e-learning in the country’s education

has ultimately led to the failure to achieve the desired effectiveness; therefore, presenting a

model for the effectiveness of e-learning is a topic which needs to be deeply investigated. Using

using hierarchical analysis method, the effective dimensions were ranked.

characteristics, individual skills, ambiguity tolerance, appropriate personality and individual

management structures, social impacts, organizational agility, and organizational leadership

hardware, information infrastructure, understanding usefulness, information technology

infrastructure, content production infrastructure, understanding ease of use, and management

accountability infrastructure. Among the individual indicators, individual perception with a

weight of 0.2 and individual skills with a weight of 0.07 and among the organizational

indicators, organizational training with a weight of 0.24 and organizational leadership with a

weight of 0.012 and among the infrastructure indicators, compliance with structural

infrastructures with a weight of 0.148 and management accountability infrastructures with a

weight of 0.069 have the highest and lowest priority among the studied dimensions,

respectively.

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