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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Learning and Performance Systems FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE DIFFUSION PROCESS OF MOBILE DEVICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN BOTSWANA AND NAMIBIA A Dissertation in Learning, Design and Technology & Comparative and International Education by Tutaleni I. Asino © 2015 Tutaleni I. Asino Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 The dissertation of Tutaleni I. Asino was reviewed and approved* by the following: Simon R. Hooper Professor of Learning, Design and Technology Dissertation Advisor Co-Chair of Committee Ladislaus M. Semali Professor of Education Co-Chair of Committee Kyle Peck Professor of Learning, Design and Technology and Co-Director of the Center for Online Innovation in Learning (COIL) Sinfree Makoni Associate professor of Applied Linguistics and African Studies Hoi K. Suen Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology Roy B. Clariana Director of Graduate Studies Professor of Learning, Design and Technology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT This comparative study uses the Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theoretical framework to explore factors that influence diffusion of mobile devices in higher education in Botswana and Namibia. The five attributes (Relative Avantage, Compatability, Complexity, Trialability, and Observability) of the persuasion stage, which have been found in previous studies to influence the DoI were used to explore factors that influence the diffusion process of mobile devices at the University of Botswana and University of Namibia. For the participants in this study, Complexity, Trialability, and Observability appeared to be the three factors that shed light on why mobile devices are popular among students for outside class activities such as texting and accessing social media websites, but their use in higher education has not gained the same degree of popularity as they have in social settings. In other words, data imply that mobile devices are seen by participants in this study as complicated and are limited in their Trialability and Observability. The main implication here is that if mobile devices are to fully diffuse for participants in this study, complexity issues must be revealed and attempts made to reduce them. Similarly, attempts should be made to promote environments that provide opportunities to try out mobile devices for teaching and learning. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... x Dedication .................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem and Context ................................................................. 3 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 6 The Diffusion of Innovation Process ............................................................. 7 DoI Stages ..................................................................................................... 9 Relative Advantage ....................................................................................... 11 Compatibility ................................................................................................. 12 Complexity .................................................................................................... 13 Trialability ..................................................................................................... 14 Observability ................................................................................................. 14 DoI in the Current Study ............................................................................... 15 Why Compare Botswana and Namibia? ............................................................... 16 The Case of Botswana ................................................................................... 19 University of Botswana ................................................................................. 21 ICT Infrastructure at University of Botswana ............................................... 23 The Case of Namibia ..................................................................................... 24 University of Namibia ................................................................................... 26 ICT Infrastructure at University of Namibia ................................................. 27 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 27 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 28 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 28 Delimitations ......................................................................................................... 29 Summary ............................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................ 31 Mobiles Devices in Education .............................................................................. 31 Characteristics of Mobile Devices ................................................................. 32 mLearning in Universities ............................................................................. 33 Research on the Use of Mobile Devices in African Higher Education ......... 37 Summary of Section ...................................................................................... 37 Diffusion of Innovations ....................................................................................... 38 The Diffusion Process ................................................................................... 38 Research on Perceived Attributes .................................................................. 43 v Diffusion of Innovations Research in Africa ................................................. 49 Differentiating Diffusion and Adoption ........................................................ 57 Section Summary ........................................................................................... 57 Comparative International Education ................................................................... 58 Using the Comparative Method to Study ICT in education .......................... 60 Summary ............................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 3 Method ........................................................................................................ 64 Participants ........................................................................................................... 64 Materials ............................................................................................................... 67 Justification for using a survey ...................................................................... 67 Description and Design of Instrument ........................................................... 68 Research Design and Rationale ............................................................................ 73 Comparative Method ..................................................................................... 73 Comparability and Equivalence .................................................................... 74 Data Collection Procedure .................................................................................... 77 Administering the survey .............................................................................. 79 Data Collection in Botswana ......................................................................... 80 Data Collection in Namibia ........................................................................... 81 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 81 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 82 Analysis for Research Question 1 ................................................................. 83 Analysis for Research Questions 2 - 4 .......................................................... 85 Analysis for Questions 5 ............................................................................... 85 Analysis for Questions 6 - 7 .......................................................................... 86 Analysis for open-ended questions ................................................................ 87 Summary ............................................................................................................... 94 Chapter 4 Results ......................................................................................................... 95 Overview of data collected ..................................................................................