Emergency e-learning acceptance in second-cycle institutions in Ghana: a conditional mediation analysis

This paper investigates the determinants that will influence students’ acceptance of the electronic learning (e-learning) system of education after the COVID-19 emergency. Specifically, the paper assesses the attitudes and intentions of students in second-cycle institutions to accept e-learning after the pandemic, using constructs derived from the health belief model and technology acceptance model. Also, we test if there is any significant difference in the attitudes and intentions of students in public and private institutions. Using data collected from 370 students in upper and lower levels of a second-cycle institutions in Ghana, we found that student attitude is significantly influenced by perceived usefulness and moderately affected by perceived severity, whereas, student’s intention is moderately affected by the perceived severity but substantially influenced by the student’s attitude towards usage. Also, the results revealed that students’ attitudes and intentions to use e-learning are moderately affected by the severity of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, there were no significant differences in the attitudes and intentions of the sampled students in public and private second-cycle institutions in Ghana, regarding their acceptance and usage of e-learning after the COVID-19 emergency. Given the study’s findings, the paper concludes that students’ attitudes and intention to use e-learning are the main determinants that will influence the students’ acceptance of the e-learning system of education in second-cycle institutions in Ghana after the COVID-19 emergency. The paper contributes to knowledge by providing evidence of students’ acceptance of the e-learning system of education after the COVID-19 emergency in the context of a developing country like Ghana.