Abstract
International literature shows that the positive effect on students performance from the adoption of innovations in the technology of teaching and learning do not affect all teaching methods and learning styles equally, as it depends on university strategy and policy towards Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) adoption, students abilities, technology uses in the educational process by teachers and students, or the selection of a methodology that matches with digital uses. This paper provides empirical answers to these questions with data from online students at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). An empirical model based on structural equations has been defined to explain complex relationships between variables. Our results show that motivation is the main variable affecting online students’ performance. It appears as a latent variable influenced by students’ perception of efficiency, a driver for indirect positive and significant effect on students’ performance from students’ ability in ICT uses.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Becker, W.E.: Teaching Economics to Undergraduates. Journal of Economic Literature XXXV(3), 1347–1373 (1997)
Brown, W.B., Liedholm, C.E.: Teaching Microeconomic Principles – Can Web Courses Replace the Classroom in Principles of Microeconomics? American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), 444–448 (May 2002)
Coates, D., Humphreys, B.R., Kane, J., Vachris, M.A.: No significant distance between face-to-face and online instruction: evidence form principle of economics. Economics of Education Review 23, 533–546 (2004)
Dutton, J.D., Dutton, M., Perry, J.: How Do Online Students Differ From Lecture Students? Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 6(1), 1–20 (2002)
Hanushek, E.A.: Conceptual and Empirical Issues in the Estimation of Educational Production Functions. Journal of Human Resources 24, 1141–1177 (1979)
Hoskins, S.L., van Hooff, J.C.: Motivation and ability: which students use online learning and what influence does it have on their achievement? British Journal of Education Technology 2(36), 177–192 (2005)
Johnes, J.: Data envelopment analysis and its application to the measurement of efficiency in higher education. Economics of Education Review 25, 273–288 (2006)
Levin, H.M.: Measuring Efficiency in Educational Production. Public Finance Quarterly 2, 3–25 (1974)
Löfgren, C.: What Determines Student Achievement on Exams? – Evidence from an Introductory Economics Course. In: Löfgren, C. (ed.) Time to Study Students – Two Essays on Student Achievement and Study Effort. PhLIc Thesis, Umeå Economic Studies No. 466 (1998)
Navarro, P.: Economics in the Cyberclassroom. Journal of Economic Perspectives 2(14), 119–132 (2000)
Olobatuyi, M.E.: A User’s Guide to Path Analysis. University Press of America, Oxford (2006)
Sosin, K., Blecha, B.J., Agawal, R., Bartlett, R.L., Daniel, J.I.: Efficiency in the Use of Technology in Economic Education: Some Preliminary Results. American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), 253–258 (May 2004)
Talley, D.: Technology and Teaching: Learning in a High-Tech Environment Revisited. Dakota State University, Mimeo (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Castillo-Merino, D., Serradell-Lopez, E., González-González, I. (2010). Which Are the Determinants of Online Students’ Efficiency in Higher Education?. In: Lytras, M.D., et al. Technology Enhanced Learning. Quality of Teaching and Educational Reform. TECH-EDUCATION 2010. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 73. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_30
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13165-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13166-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)