Internet for Learning and Knowledge Building: Students’ Perceptions and Utilization in Cambodian Higher Education

By: Peou,Chivoin (Cambodia)



Learn about the Project

The project aims to explore the extent to which students at select Cambodian universities and high schools utilize the internet for general and academic purposes, and the associating dynamics that determine and interact with internet use. On the one hand, an understanding on the actual uses of the internet by these students will inform, and adjust if necessary, the currently overt enthusiasm for the integral role of the internet in higher education, especially in developing countries. On the other hand, empirical data of actual uses and associating dynamics are indispensable for critically-informed into educational institutions and, equally importantly, teaching and learning styles of Cambodian educators and learners.

A total number of 2,074 undergraduate students from four higher educational institutions and two high schools in the Capital of Phnom Penh were included in the cross-sectional survey. The four higher educational institutions and the two high schools overall represented a typical university and average downtown public high school respectively. The students were asked to complete a structured questionnaire, divided into four sections: relevant demographic data, internet uses and experiences, internet attitudes, and academic utilization of the internet. The questions on attributes and behaviors were asked in a straightforward manner. For internet expertise, ‘self-reported perceived’ internet ability was used instead of any standardized internet skill measure, if any.

‘Use motivation’ was measured by the respondents’ responses to the frequencies of 17 activities on the internet during the last six months. The activities were adapted from the Socio=Affective Regulation (SAR) and Goods-and-Information (GIA) of the internet uses by Weiser (2001), and the Process, Content and Social Gratifications of the internet by Stafford, Stafford and Schkade (2004). Further modifications were made to the 17 activities after a focus group discussion with university students during the design stage. An exploratory factor analysis on the activities produced three distinct use motivations in using the internet: information seeking, entertainment, and socialization, with one item deleted to increase internal reliability value of one subscale.

“Attitude” toward the internet was adapted from the Internet Attitude Scale (IAS) by Tsai et al. (2001), which originally consisted of four subscales: perceived usefulness, affection, perceived control, and behaviour. However, the “behaviour” subscale had a low reliability score (α=.49), and hence was omitted from this study. A few statements inferred from the focus group discussion at the design stage were added to the original IAS. As a result, there were 14 attitude statements used in the final questionnaire and they were measured on a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’). An exploratory factor analysis produced three attitude constructs, with one item deleted to increase the internal reliability value of the third construct:

1. Comfort: absence of anxiety about, or feeling at ease with, the internet
2. Optimism: belief that the internet has positive impacts on humans and society
3. Enthusiasm: feeling of excitement with the development of the internet

‘Academic internet use’ was measured by the respondents’ responses to the frequencies of six activities on the internet during the last six months. The six activities were generated by the focus group discussion during the design stage, viz. using search engines for school work, searching web sites and archives of government or non-governmental bodies for school work, looking for news for school work, downloading books, communication with classmates about school work, and communicating with teachers about school work (with Cronbach’s reliability value α=.84).

At the moment of this report, there are two outputs: (1) a research report to be printed with financial support from the Department of Media and Communication for local audience, and (2) a research paper submitted to the international Journal of Education and Development using ICT. The PI is still working with the Mentor to explore if the data can be used to write another article for journal publication. The outcomes of the project have not been measured due to the fact that the two (and other possible) outputs are still in press.

Findings

Internet Access, Experience & Activities: 85% of the students have experienced using the internet, among them more males and university students, expected universal dividers. Public access terminals, in this case internet café (locally called internet ‘shop’), serve as the most regular internet access point (46%), followed by mobile phone (33%), campus facilities (25%), home connection (19%), and Wi-Fi restaurant (locally known as )modern café’, 3%). Among the internet users, more than two-thirds have used the internet for only two years or less; merely one-fourth self-rates their internet competence as ‘poor’; and a large majority (83%) has gained internet skill through self-practice, continual usage and peers. The monthly expenses on internet among them is low, based on respondents’ self-estimate, with almost three=fourths spending 5 US dollars or less. Moderate satisfaction is reported by the students on internet use at internet cafes/shops, home, and to the elast extent on mobile phone. Slight dissatisfaction is reported on internet access at school facilities and at restaurants with Wi-Fi connection. Finally, activities on the internet are wide-ranging, from the most popular such as looking for information for school work and sending/reading emails, to moderately popular such as onlien chatting and reading job announcements, and to least popular including lookin for friendship and romance.

Internet Use Motivations: The students use the internet for three main reasons: Information seeking, entertainment, and , to the least extent, socialization, based on statistical analysis of the reported internet activities. Information seeking and entertainment motivations are more common among maels and university studetns than among females and high school studetns respectively. However, using the internet to socialize is a stronger motivation among high school students, though undifferentiated between males and females. The lengh of internet experience also increase the three uses of the internet. Different internet access points also account for different uses to different degress. Internet access at home and on mobile phone has enabled more internet integration into the users’ lives in general, be it informational, entertainment or socializing needs, while internet café access is very much utilitarian in information seeking. In addition, internet access on school/university campus is minimaly used for information seeking, while access at Wi-Fi restaurants is too limited to seriously account for different uses of the internet.

Attitudes toward the Internet: Overall, the studetns are positive toward the presence and development of the internet in Cambodia. Based on statistical analysis of an attitudianl scale, three aspects of attitudes toward the internet are evident: comfort (absence of anxiety about, or feeling at ease with, the internet); optimism (belife that the internet has positive impacts on humans and society); and enthusiasm (feeling of excitemetn with the development of the internet). Males, university studetns, and more experienced users tend to hold a more positive attitude toward the internet than their respective counterparts. Information seeking motivation aslo appears to encourage more posititve attitudes toward the internet, whilst entertainment and socialization uses of the nternet do so to a much lesser extent.

Internet Use for Academic Purpose: Utilizing the internet for academic purpose is still minimal among the students surveyed, clearly demanding skill training and well-thought education activities if students are to better benefit from internet accessibility. High school students, less experienced users and, unfortunately, females are much underrepresented for such utilization. As expected, the motivation to seek information accounts to a great extent for using the internet for academic work.

PI’s Current Progress

My experience with the SIRCA program has been a unique experience for me, personally and professionally. I was a fresh graduate in media studies and it had just been a few months into my academic career in Cambodia in 2008, when I stumbled across the call for SIRCA grants. As I look back, there could never have been a better way to begin an academic career, particularly in the context of Cambodia, where academic research had largely been absent. The SIRCA program is outstanding in that, as an old adage would put it, it has emphasized how to fish and not just given the fish. Over the period of almost two years I was involved in the program as a grantee, not only have I, through my research project, learnt about and found fascinating about the field of ICTD, but I have been enlightened with a rigorous research and professional process, from designing to managing a research project, to writing research papers and to collaborating with senior researchers, which has given me confidence in pursuing an academic career. One of the most significant achievements has been the publication of a research article, co-authored by myself and my mentor, published in 2011 in the International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society. In addition, the confidence, skills and fascination with research and knowledge building I have received from the SIRCA program have allowed me to receive Australia’s Endeavor Award to pursue my PhD at the University of Melbourne in sociology.