Psycho-Social Predictors of Students With Disabilities' eLearning: Usage at the Federal College of Education (Special), Nigeria

There has been growing interest in the education of students with disabilities in the recent times. This is contingent on the fact that students with disabilities constitute distinct population whose educational needs are different from those students without disabilities. Also, the application and usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as indispensable force to aid teaching-learning processes has equally been on the increase. Instructional use of information and communication technologies carries a peculiar importance as they help in meeting the instructional needs of students with disabilities who cannot follow the requirements of normal educational processes. Thus, information and communication technologies have become frequently used devices in modern instructional settings by all stakeholders, students with disabilities inclusive. These technologies regulate, direct, guide and shape students with disabilities' academic activities and social interactions. Consequently, the increased use of these technologies and the recent developments in adaptive software and hardware have enabled students with disabilities to participate in, and do things that used to be difficult or impossible for them. Several studies have been carried out on eLearning usage, but not much on students with disabilities in Nigeria. This study therefore, provided a causal explanation of students with disabilities' eLearning usage through the analysis of some psycho-social variables such as gender, nature of disability, computer self-efficacy, technological confidence and attitude towards technology. The study adopted descriptive research design of the "ex-post facto" in nature. The Federal College of Education (Special), Nigeria was purposively selected. Two hundred and fifty participants were selected through simple random sampling technique. Three validated self-designed instruments namely Students' Computer Self Efficacy Scale (r =0.75), Attitudes towards Technology Questionnaire (r =0.86), Students' Technological Confidence Scale (r =0.75) were used to collect data. Two research questions and hypotheses each were answered and tested to pilot the study. Regression analysis and t-test were used for data analysis. The five factors combined accounted for 17% of the total variance in students with disabilities' eLearning usage. The order of magnitude in terms of relative contributions were computer self-efficacy (beta=.048), technological confidence (beta=.041), attitude towards technology (beta=.038), gender (beta=.025) and nature of disability (beta=.018). Furthermore, there were significant differences between nature of disability (t=2.29, df= 248, P < 0.05), and gender (t=2.21, df=248, P < 0.05) on students with disabilities' eLearning usage. Computer self-efficacy, technological confidence and attitudes towards technology significantly predicted students with disabilities' eLearning usage. Institutions should device a mechanism for keeping the students with disabilities highly motivated throughout their programmes. Adequate communication facilities should also be provided for students with disabilities who may be disadvantaged in the inclusive educational system. Students with disabilities should develop positive attitude towards technology so as to keep abreast of latest information as it affects their education.