APPENDIX A: PROJECT REPORT FRONT COVER

ADOPTION OF WHATSAPP INSTANT

MESSAGING AMONG STUDENTS IN IPOH
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

LEE CHIN YIN

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, LANGUAGES & COMMUNICATION

WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY

2016
 APPENDIX B: TITLE PAGE

NAME Lee Chin Yin

DEGREE Master of Education

SUPERVISOR Dr. Lee See Seng

TITLE Adoption of WhatsApp Instant Messaging among Students in

Ipoh Higher Education Institutions

DATE May 2016

Project Report submitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirements for the award of
Master of Education
of
Wawasan Open University
Penang, Malaysia
 APPENDIX C: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for all the

emotional and financial support provided to me as it is their support which was

instrumental in encouraging me to reach the end of this journey. During my studies,

there were times when work commitments and other challenges that made me

believe that I would not be able to see this journey through. It was during these times

words of encouragement from my family and friends gave me the necessary

motivation to persist. No words of thanks can adequately express the depth of my

appreciation and gratitude.

I would also like to personally thank my supervisor Lee See Seng for providing me

all the guidance required to successfully complete this research report. His

encouragement, support, understanding and, above all, his prompt, constructive and

greatly appreciated criticism and feedback, were invaluable to the research, writing

and completion of this report.

Lee Chin Yin

May 2016
 APPENDIX D: SAMPLE OF CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certifr that the project titled "Adoption of WhatsApp Instant Messaging
among Students in lpoh Higher Education Institutions " is an original work of the
student and is being submitted in partial fulfrlment for the award of Master of
Education of Wawasan Open University (WOU). This report has not been submitted
earlier either to this University or to any other University / Institution for the
fulfilment of a requirement of a course of study.

Declaration made by Student:

ISignature]
[Name] LV,6 C]l/-^l Yat
[Student ID Number] o I l( Voa?3
[Date] z1 - -r-cp lL

Declaration confirmed by Project Supervisor:

ISignature]
[Name] AR 4.c 94r- kNr4
[Project Supervisor ID NumberJ I/ u oo/O-..
[Date] z4 - r-ulL
 APPEI{DD( E: PLAGIARISM STATEMENT

PLAGIARISM STATEMENT

I, Lee Chin Yin, declare that the attached report is all my own work and all
references contained within it have been correctly cited, the original authors
acknowledged and it contains no plagiarism.

After the completion of the project report, I have scanned the report through
TURNITIN software for plagiarism. The plagiarism report received from the
plagiarism detection software indicated that the work is very likely to be original and
that I had not plagiarised any substantive part of the report.

Declaration made by Student

Yst
o fll 7oo ??
 APPENDIX F: TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Page

Title Page i
Acknowledgements ii
Certificate of Originality iii
Plagiarism Statement iv
Table of Contents v
Abbreviations vi
Abstract vii

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study

1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Purpose of the Study 4
1.4 Research Objectives and Research Questions 5
1.4.1 Research Objectives 5
1.4.2 Research Questions 5
1.5 Research Hypothesis 5
1.6 Assumptions and Significance of the Study 6
1.6.1 Assumptions of the Study 6
1.6.2 Significance of the Study 7
1.7 Definition of Terms 7
1.8 Scope and Limitations of the Study 8
1.8.1 Scope of the Study 8
1.8.2 Limitations of the Study 8
1.9 Summary 8

Chapter 2 Review of Literature

2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 Adoption of ICT in Education: A Global Outlook 9
2.1.1 Adoption of ICT in Education: The Malaysian Con 10
2.2 New Social Media 11
2.2.1 The Impact of Social Media on Education 13
2.3 Use of Social media in Higher Education 14
2.3.1 The Story of WhatsApp 15
2.4 Roles of WhatsApp in Promoting Higher Education Learning 16
2.5 Acceptance of WhatsApp among University Students 21
2.5.1 Students’ Knowledge and Skills of ICT 21
2.5.2 Students’ Attitudes towards WhatsApp 21
2.5.3 Students’ Practises and Usage of WhatsApp in Learning 22
Contents Page

2.6 Theoretical Framework 22

2.7 Conceptual Framework 23
2.8 Factors Affecting Students’ Adoption of WhatsApp 24
2.9 Summary 25

Chapter 3 Methodology
3.0 Introduction 26
3.1 Research Design 26
3.2 Population, Samples and Sampling 28
3.2.1 Population of the Study 28
3.2.2 Sample Size and Sampling Technique 28
3.3 Period of Study 29
3.3.1 Location of Research 30
3.4 Instrumentation 30
3.4.1 Questionnaire 30
3.5 Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments 31
3.5.1 Validity of the Research Instruments 32
3.6 Data Collection 32
3.7 Data Analysis 33
3.8 Ethical Considerations 33
3.9 Summary 34

Chapter 4 Findings and Discussion

4.0 Introduction 35
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents 36
4.2 Respondents’ Basic Information on ICT 38
4.3 Level of Adoption of ICT among Tertiary School Students 39
4.3.1 Knowledge Possessed by Students in Using ICT Applications 44
4.4 Students Perceived Attitudes towards WhatsApp 45
4.4.1 Attitude Mean Scores for the Frequency Counts from the Statements46
4.5 Benefits of WhatsApp for Educational Purposes 48
4.5.1 Students Experiences of WhatsApp Mobile Learning 49
4.6 Factors Affecting the Adoption of WhatsApp among Students 50
4.7 Result of Hypothesis Testing 52
4.8 Reliability Statistics on Attitude Variables 57
4.9 Summary 57

Chapter 5 Conclusions, Implication and Recommendations

5.0 Introduction 58
5.1 Summary of Findings 59
5.2 Conclusion of the Findings 60
Contents Page

5.3 Implications of the Study 61

5.4 Recommendations 62
5.5 Summary 63

References 64

Appendices

Appendix A Project Report Front Cover

Appendix B Title Page
Appendix C Acknowledgements
Appendix D Certificate of Originality
Appendix E Plagiarism Statement
Appendix F Table of Contents
Appendix G Abstract Page
Appendix H Submission of Project Proposal Form
Appendix I Submission of Final Project Report for Examination Form
Appendix J Resubmission of Final Project Report for Verification
Appendix K Declaration of Final Education Research Project Paper Form
Appendix M Survey Questionnaire
Appendix N Comments and Recommendations for Student
 ABBREVIATIONS

1. ICT – Information Communication Technology

2. WHATSAPP – WhatsApp Instant Messaging

3. PC – Personal Computer

4. WWW – World Wide Web

5. CD-ROM – CD Read-Only Memory

6. ESL – English As A Second Language

7. EFL – English As A Foreign Language

8. ETC – Et Cetera

9. IT – Information Technology

10. APP – Application

11. M-LEARNING – Mobile Learning

12. E-LEARNING – Online Learning

13. VIA- By Means Of

14. iPad – Internet Protocol Adapter (Tablet Computer)

15. SMS – Short Message Service

 APPENDIX G: ABSTRACT PAGE

NAME Lee Chin Yin

DEGREE Master of Education

SUPERVISOR Dr. Lee See Seng

TITLE Adoption of WhatsApp Instant Messaging among Students in

Ipoh Higher Education Institutions

DATE May 2016

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to investigate the adoption of WhatsApp instant

messaging among students in Ipoh higher education institutions. Students’
competencies in using ICT applications, attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile
learning, practices of WhatsApp in learning and various factors influencing students’
adoption of WhatsApp are examined. This study was carried out in tertiary schools
with students who used WhatsApp. A number of 30 students took part in the survey.
Students were chosen randomly. Data was collected using questionnaire adapted
from “The Use of Social Networking Sites in Education: A Case Study of Facebook”
by Bicen and Uzunboylu which yielded a Cronbach Alpha of 0.98. Results revealed
that students were competent in using various ICT tools. They possessed positive
attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning. Most of them had great experiences
with WhatsApp. However, inaccessibility to Internet had slowed down their
adoption of WhatsApp. Finally, recommendations are made about using WhatsApp
in education.
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

1.0 Introduction
In recent years, methods of teaching and learning at universities and higher
education institutions have developed gradually from the traditional face-to-face
classroom to an online learning environment that defies the need for synchronous time
and geographical distance. Education has developed with the use of social networking
technology. Students increasingly use technological advances to enhance their learning,
for the purpose of grasping excellent academic performance (Dror, 2008).

WhatsApp instant messenger has quickly become ubiquitous and popular among
college and university students. The rapid adoption of WhatsApp among tertiary
students signals that social media technologies are undergoing a paradigm shift.
Colleges and universities have explored the potential of WhatsApp for developing a
strong presence on social media among students. WhatsApp has been used as a platform
for higher education institutions to promote their upcoming events and inform students
with campus news (Smith, 2015).

The widespread use of WhatsApp by students in tertiary education has gained

attention from the researcher. There is a need to explore how social media applications
currently are being used in higher education by focusing on the aspect of students. In
order to investigate the largely educational benefits of WhatsApp in distance education,
the current research will also emphasize on the attitudes of students towards WhatsApp
mobile learning (Brady, Holcomb & Smith, 2010).

1.1 Background of the study

As institutions of higher education integrate technology into classroom

curriculum to improve the efficiency of academic standard, university students have

1
generally been quick to adopt new instructional technology tools in their learning to
construct knowledge (Prensky, 2001). They use various educational mobile learning
technologies, computer gadgets, electronic devices and ICT tools to support their
campus learning (Wylie, 2015). The transmission of text-based messages and general
information through use of mobile social applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and other application devices are more and more frequent at
universities and all tertiary education institutions (Amry, 2014).

From a list of social networking applications, WhatsApp has raised as the most
popular messenger application among the college university students (Jadhav, Bhutkar,
& Mehta, 2013). It is used by a majority of people, especially youths and adult learners,
for the purposes of communication and stay connected (Castells, 2007). Many students
are willing to use texts and instant messages as communication tools for academic
purposes as they are ideal for educational learning environments (Lauricella & Kay,
2013). Therefore, WhatsApp has become the “communication portal” for social
networking, which has rapidly changed the way people communicate (Susilo, 2014).

Higher education students have conducted online discussion activities using

WhatsApp within peer groups and online instructors for information sharing (Susilo,
2014). Meaningful student participation in academic is encouraged as WhatsApp helps
in fostering knowledge sharing, enhancing peer support on educational affairs and
nurturing knowledge communities. Students imagine WhatsApp as a lever for crossing
over access to cooperatively-created resources, heightening on assignment conduct and
promoting important context-free learning (Rambe & Chipunza, 2013).

1.2 Problem Statement

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a significant role in

education. The nature of learning is frequently identified with the utilization of ICT
instruments in learning. The integration of WhatsApp in teaching can greatly enhance
the quality of learning (Davies, 1997). It is believed that WhatsApp is able to enhance
the learners’ critical thinking skills, information handling skills and problem solving

2
capacity (Bransford, 1994). Therefore, technology utilization in the tertiary classrooms
aids students to perform better in the learning process (Snelbecker, 1999).

In spite of the fact that WhatsApp provides different advantages to learning in

schools, it is rather important for us to explore the level of acceptance on WhatsApp as a
tool to communicate and collaborate among university students (Raman, Sani & Kaur,
2014). We need to inspect the knowledge and ICT competencies possessed by these
students. It appears that students from the rural areas of Malaysia have lower level of
acceptance towards WhatsApp mobile learning. They are reluctant to use WhatsApp in
the classroom (Maloney, 2007). There is a big question if these students are proficient
enough to utilize the ICT applications. To address this gap, the readiness and patterns of
student learning outside the classroom should be identified. Integrating WhatsApp in
learning may enhance their performance in basic subjects (Raman, Sani & Kaur, 2014).

In Malaysia, WhatsApp is being used widely by the school-aged pupils for

communication. However, its potential in the academic purposes is still very much
debated. There have been research studies which have demonstrated the negative
impacts of WhatsApp on student educational performance. WhatsApp has been utilized
for recreational activities with less commitment on student achievement and literacy
abilities (Raman, Sani & Kaur, 2014). Students’ general attitudes towards WhatsApp
affect their acceptance of the usefulness of the particular technology and its integration
into learning (Baylor & Ritchie, 2002). Students’ positive attitudes towards WhatsApp
have direct effect on its frequency of usage (Albirini, 2006).

Up to the present time, zero exploration has been done before in developing
countries notably in Ipoh, Malaysia. It stays obscure whether WhatsApp ought to be
utilized or banned in tertiary education. Despite the fact that a number studies in other
countries have revealed that greater part of the social media users are college university
students, however, in Ipoh, the number of higher education students who are aware of
WhatsApp and adopt it as a learning tool is not clear. Moreover, majority of the past
studies tend to depict teachers’ perceptions on the selection of ICT instruments in
secondary schools, for instance, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In contrast, the views
and concerns of students about the educational use of WhatsApp in tertiary education

3
have not been documented. In such a case, researcher is required to conduct a study that
investigates the use of WhatsApp among students in Ipoh higher education institutions.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The present study investigates the widespread use of social media by students in
higher education. Many articles have emphasized the positive benefits of WhatsApp
mobile learning, as it has the potential to enhance deep student learning and thus
improve students’ experiences with technology (Apeanti & Danso, 2013). Policy makers,
school administrators, educators and learners are urged to pay required consideration on
the integration of WhatsApp in education systems (Mikre, 2011).

The motivation behind this study is to measure ICT competence among students
in higher education institutions. Besides that, students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp
mobile learning will be examined too. Moreover, this study will reveal students’
experiences of using WhatsApp and instant messaging practices for educational
purposes. To wrap things up, this study tends to research different factors influencing
students’ utilization of WhatsApp along the way of learning.

In another facet, researcher attempts to comprehend the use level of WhatsApp

among university students. Various questions of how students access WhatsApp, what
they use it for, how frequently they use it and their thoughts about the educational use of
WhatsApp will be discussed in the study. Researcher will also evaluate the positive
impacts of using WhatsApp in virtual learning. At the same time, the negative effects of
the use of WhatsApp may affect learners’ academic performance.

Overall, this research is looking at the comfort level, frequency of use, usefulness,
reasons for messaging and communication between peers and faculty with the adoption
of WhatsApp in pupils’ learning (Lauricella & Kay, 2013). Researcher has made good
effort to generate accurate results from a list of data obtained. It is trusted that the
research findings will document the utilization and level of awareness of WhatsApp
among students in Ipoh tertiary education institutions.

4
1.4 Research Objectives and Research Questions

1.4.1 Research Objectives

This study examines the aspects of knowledge, skills, attitudes, practices and factors
influencing the implementation of WhatsApp mobile learning into higher education
classrooms. The following are the targeted objectives of the study:

( i ) To explore the level of competence in ICT of the students carrying on learning

( ii ) To examine students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning

( iii ) To reveal the practices and use of WhatsApp in higher education classrooms

( iv ) To investigate factors affecting students’ acceptance of WhatsApp

1.4.2 Research Questions

The questions below have guided this study:

( 1 ) To what extent is students’ competence with ICT applications?

( 2 ) What are the attitudes of students towards WhatsApp mobile learning?

( 3 ) What are the educational benefits of WhatsApp to students?

( 4 ) What are the factors influencing students’ participation and adoption of WhatsApp?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Research hypothesis is used to evaluate the viability of the research questions in the
study. It is normally quantitative in nature. The numeric information which is gathered
using different research devices will be analysed measurably in order to answer the
research questions. It is an important component in the research study. In this manner, to
create good research hypothesis, the researcher needs to make note of the connection
between independent and dependent variables in the study itself. The following are
research hypotheses that could be framed for the research study.

5
Ho1: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their competencies in computer use.

Ho2: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their gender.

Ho3: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their age.

Ho4: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their academic major (subject area).

Ho5: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their WhatsApp experience for educational purposes.

Ho6: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their year of study (level of study).

1.6 Assumptions and Significance of the Study

1.6.1 Assumptions of the Study

Various assumptions are made. This study is first limited to the higher education
students in Ipoh. Students are assumed to have appropriate physical facilities and
adequate instructional learning resources. Students should own smartphones which
enable them to access to the different mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

Other than that, the use of mobile technology apps ought to be free of charge and easy to
use. It is to ensure that every student should be able to afford. Students should have
fundamental knowledge and abilities of ICT in order to perform better in online learning.
What’s more, support from school administration is important as well. It is assumed that
schools are adopting e-learning and teachers possess great attitudes towards integration
of WhatsApp. Respondents are expected to be sincere in responding to the survey given.

6
1.6.2 Significance of the Study

The findings of research have conveyed significance to the study. This study aims to
reveal the use of WhatsApp among college university students. The integration of
WhatsApp in learning is essential as it helps to enhance students’ learning quality
through learner-centred. The study findings enable the government higher education
institutions to formulate and improve the national ICT policy on schools. It is of the
interests of educational policy makers, school administrators, educators and learners to
understand and develop strategies that catapult the adoption of WhatsApp in tertiary
education classrooms. Also, this study will encourage and motivate other researchers or
bodies of knowledge in the area of e-learning to contribute more literature writings on
the practical usage of ICT in higher education.

1.7 Definition of Terms

Adoption : Acceptance of ICT in school education. It may refer to the decision of a

group of individuals to make choices about how to use a technological innovation.

Blended learning : A new learning model that combines online with traditional face-to-
face learning. Teacher only acts as a facilitator.

Collaborative learning : An ICT-supported learning model that encourages interaction

and cooperation among teachers, students and experts. It provides a great opportunity for
students to work with others, thereby improving their teaming and communication skills.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) : The computer and Internet access

used to manipulate, interpret, communicate and present information for learning purpose.

Learner-centred : A learning domain that highlights learners’ knowledge, skills,

attitudes, beliefs and personal engagement to the learning activities.

E-learning : An online learning that makes use of social networking system for course
delivery. Learning is done using computers with heavy use of Internet in assessing
relevant information.

7
1.8 Scope and Limitations of the Study

1.8.1 Scope of the Study

This study is generally about the adoption of WhatsApp among students in Ipoh tertiary
institutions. There is couple of institutions of higher education in the town implementing
e-learning system. This study of research is conducted in local universities in which
online education has been practised for years. The schools are being selected using
simple random sampling technique. The representative samples will provide quantitative
data to the research findings. Students are the only respondents for the survey study. The
academic research experts will have to make sure the research instrument used is valid
and reliable.

1.8.2 Limitations of the Study

This study is greatly emphasizes on the adoption of WhatsApp among younger

adolescents. WhatsApp has been treated as a famous mobile chat app which supports its
users to exchange and share resources on the social networking activities. However,
interaction and collaborative learning using WhatsApp mobile device have restricted the
use of computer in school universities. Inaccessibility to Internet is also a big challenge
for schools to integrate e-learning. Moreover, in conducting survey study, researcher has
to make appointment with the respondents since they are busy occupied with school
work. Cooperation from the respondents is important and does not come easily.
Therefore, researcher has turned up for the appointments punctually and persisted until
all relevant information is collected. At last, private and confidential issues are sensitive
as nobody prefers to admit a specific proficiency limitation. In this case, researcher
ought to be more alert in leading the study.

1.9 Summary

This chapter contains introduction and background of the study, problem statement,
purposes, objectives and questions of the study, research hypothesis, assumptions and
significance, scope and limitations as well as definition of terms.

8
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction

In a traditional learning classroom, the educational lectures are normally content-

driven, emphasizing conceptual ideas over concrete terms and applications. Classroom
assessment techniques are rarely challenge students to perform at higher levels of
cognition to increase understanding and retention (Duch, Groh & Allen, 2001). Since
year of 2000, a wide variety of ICT tools are utilized in Malaysian schools to bolster the
learning of different subjects (Lau & Chia, 2008).

There is a call for students across the nation to make essential adjustments in
their day by day learning process so as to adapt to the latest advancement within the
field of ICT (Lewin & McNicol, 2015). Effective implementation of ICT will enrich the
quality of teaching and promote positive communication between educators and pupils
(Becta, 2003). Studies have demonstrated that students in technology rich environment
experienced beneficial outcomes on academic achievement (Grinager, 2006).

The usage of ICT for teaching and learning has been greatly emphasized in local
schools. Therefore, both teachers and students are expected to fully utilized technology
in classrooms (Luaran, Ghazali & Jain, 2014). Implementation of ICT into national
educational curriculum involves a number of factors which influence students’ adoption
of ICT in the academic settings (Mumtaz, 2000). To sum up the above findings, ICT
plays a very important role in students’ learning.

2.1 Adoption of ICT in Education: A Global Outlook

A literature review focusing on the global context of ICT adoption in education

has revealed that most schools in developing nations are moving ahead with the

9
implementation of various ICT devices into learning classrooms (Komen, 2013).
Teachers and pupils in these countries are competent and capable in computer
technology with a large portion of the schools are furnished with the latest ICT
equipment and facilities such as computers, laptops, wireless Internet service (Wi-Fi),
LCD projectors, software and electronic resources (Samuel & Zaitun, 2007).

The British government has guaranteed that each school owns computers.
Instructors are trained on the utilization of computer whereas learners are offered
chances to build up their ICT skills and abilities (Opie & Katsu, 2000). Large
investments in ICT for schooling have been made by UK. The ultimate goal in
promoting the use of ICT in schools has been to increase the teaching effectiveness and
thus enhance pupils’ learning (Higgins, 2003).

The American government has formulated its own ICT policy as well. The
national ICT policy includes the provision of computers in school to the ratio of one
computer for ten students. It is necessary for all teachers to be computer literate by
attending computer courses (Zhao & Cziko, 2001). Almost all students in US have
experienced digital technologies by accessing to the computer, Internet and smartphone
(Boykin, 2011).

2.1.1 Adoption of ICT in Education: The Malaysian Context

The Malaysian government plans to expand the use of ICT in local education
system. Special education programs for national education curriculum have been carried
out for future learning. Schools have integrated ICT use and classroom learning is
equipped with new instructional technologies (Momanyi et al., 2006) . Students are well-
prepared to face real-world problems and thus compete in the global challenges.

The education system of our country plays a vital role in shaping the future of
our nation, at the same time, providing students with critical thinking skills, effective
communication abilities as well as language proficiency (Mansor et al., 2014). Various
on-going teacher trainings on ICT use in education have been carried out by the Ministry

10
of Education (MoE) to promote ICT.

The Smart School program was first introduced by the government to prepare
children for the information age (Smart School Project Team, 1997). The KSSR
educational program was produced by the government to demonstrate the significance of
ICT in education. Instructors and learners should be ICT savvy (KSSR, 2011).
MySchoolNet was then set up by the MoE to increase the use of ICT in education. This
website provides links to teachers and pupils to access educational resources easily
(Chan, 2002).

The Malaysian government stresses on the improvement of the limited ICT

infrastructure in order to ensure a successful e-learning integration in higher education
institutions (Kituyi & Tusubira, 2013). Recently, Malaysian national curriculum has
been rebuilt to meet the increasing demand for knowledge-based society. The Vision
2020 plan has stated that the transformation of Malaysian education system has
produced a generation of well-educated with high technology knowledge (Raman &
Mohamed, 2013). Education technology has made teaching simpler for teachers and
learning fun for students (Raman, 2010).

In Malaysian colleges and universities, students have great exposure to a variety

of e-learning resources. Social media tools like email, chat apps, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and blog are widely used by students. They tend to discuss issues pertaining
to their studies with peers in the digital world (Reddy, 2014). Truth be told, multimedia
technology has been invested in Malaysian tertiary education to improve the both
teaching and learning fields. This depicts the positive move and advance of ICT
integration among higher education students in Malaysia (Mansor et al., 2014).

2.2 New Social Media

Social networking sites have become well-known in today’s e-community as

they provide an open arena for people over the world to communicate, exchange ideas,
share knowledge, interests and send messages to each other regardless of geographic

11
distance (Sawyer, 2011). People are able to interact among themselves and quickly
obtain information that is available on the Internet. New social media has brought
significant changes to the way people communicate.

With the creation of social networking services, people freely discuss new ideas
and express their personal opinions to the public. They engage in the online
conversations and dialogues without being face-to-face with other participants. People
are used to keep up close relationships with a small number of strong ties as opposed to
making new connections with other individuals (Rosen et al., 2010). Social media has
conveyed various advantages to the globalized society.

The four common social networks across the world are Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter and iPhone. Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with the
mission to unite people from different backgrounds and encourage communication
among them (Facebook, 2010). It advances the exchange of messages between
individuals around the world so that they can use the Internet to interact and collaborate
with others (Sawyer, 2011). These social networking sites have enriched our social lives
and ignored the factor of distance.

YouTube is another video-sharing website which started in 2005. It allows users

to interact with the worldwide groups by creating and sharing user-generated video
contents (Georgetown University, 2010). People are offered chances to view videos and
leave comments. They can even participate in the selected online forums and video
conferences. Videos are uploaded to the Internet for the purpose of entertainment,
information or persuasion. People are urged to make their own judgements on the issues
response to controversial and stereotypes videos (Sawyer, 2011).

Twitter is a social networking site created by Tim Dorsey in 2006. Users are
allowed to share and exchange information through micro-blogging. People use it to
discuss everyday activities and seek friends, celebrities or musicians on the site (Java et
al., 2007). They feel connected with other people and develop a feeling of acceptance for
the actions and emotions of others. In such a way, Twitter has impacted on the general
population. People worldwide tend to focus on the private lives of others and generate a

12
sense of desire for interrelationship and knowledge sharing (Sawyer, 2011).

Apple has introduced a multi-function mobile device in 2007. The iPhone

combines the elements of a mobile phone, MP3 player, instant messenger, chat room
and other social applications like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (Nowak, 2008).
Smartphone such as iPhone allows the world to be constantly and conveniently
connected on social media sites. They can communicate on the Internet at whatever time
and anyplace. People get actively involved in the social interaction with the help of
advanced social technologies (Sawyer, 2011).

2.2.1 The Impact of Social Media on Education

Social networks have gained attention from higher education institutions due to
their popularity in the society. In spite of the roles of communicating thoughts and
expressing feelings among the individuals, teachers are taking steps to show students the
use of social networking sites (Gardner, 2009). With more educators understand the
significance of social media for higher education learning, a positive educational impact
has been portrayed on students’ learning outcomes (Selwyn, 2009). WhatsApp has been
the latest trends of learning and it is popular among tertiary students.

WhatsApp as a mobile social application shapes individualised learning among

students. It helps them to learn at their own pace. Students are not punished for being
slow or fast in their progress of learning as every learner is allowed to move to suit their
circumstances (Felder et al., 1996). The role of the teacher as a mentor is to assist
students to solve problems. Students are assigned responsibility for their own learning.
Students should always monitor and evaluate their learning progress as they have
become active and independent learners (MacHemer & Crawford, 2007).

Moreover, the effective use of WhatsApp increases students’ sense of

community, enhances knowledge sharing and promotes collaboration among peers
(Minocha, 2009). It helps students to express themselves, develop self-identities and
highlight their talents and experiences of learning (Konetes & McKeague, 2011). Also,

13
students use WhatsApp not only for leisure and individual socialization, but also as a
platform for meaningful deliberations. They make friends, share links, and promote
online learning and educational interaction between students and faculties (Gross, 2004).

However, despite all the benefits WhatsApp made in students’ learning, there are
other research studies remain controversial. They have negatively impacted on students’
academic performance. They claim that the use of WhatsApp in education may be
valuable but the negative effects on learning should be specified as well. Discussion on
argument like WhatsApp could do more and be more impressive with less negative
impacts on learning could be carried out in the research itself. Since our youths at
tertiary institutions are hooking up to social media, there is a need for educators to
clarify the pros and cons of social apps to school achievement (Yeboah & Ewur, 2014).

A few studies have revealed that WhatsApp could potentially be addictive

particularly when people engage in specific online activities. Regular users may develop
an addiction to Internet and it is hard to control and cure. Specifically, people argue that
WhatsApp has taken much of students study time and neglected their personal lives. It
results in procrastination due to inabilities to manage time, lack of concentration during
lectures, hard to balance online activities and academic preparation, distract students
from completing their assignments and unable to spell and construct grammatical
sentences (Janor et al., 2015).

Although there has been evidence shows the inappropriate, non-educational and
unethical use of WhatsApp among students, it is important for students to realize the
benefits of WhatsApp in enhancing academic performance (Kuppuswamy & Shankar,
2010). In fact, WhatsApp is an advantageous tool to both educators and learners if it is
used for knowledge creation and dissemination (Tuckman, 1975). Students should take
advantage of the benefits brought by this super learning device.

2.3 Use of Social Media in Higher Education

Majority of higher education students are aware that social media can be used as

14
a potential source of information for their learning. Students show positive and accepting
attitudes for social media use because they believe that it will be fun and creative for
their teachers to incorporate social media into learning classrooms (Apeanti & Danso,
2013). Other than that, students feel that they will receive a better grade if they are able
to contact the course instructors through online networking sites after lecture hours.
Overall, social media sites have empowered students to become active participants in
their personal socialization (Urista et al., 2009).

Social media provides beneficial opportunities for higher education interactive

learning. Students actually gain benefits from the experience of using social media. They
have successfully developed new forms of communication and collaboration. First,
students are using social networking sites in interaction with friends, connecting to their
peers and teachers for online studies. Online engagement is getting more important for
education as students are good at developing a sense of Internet presence (Barker, 2013).
Second, social media acts as an informal learning tool by practising peer-to-peer
knowledge and skills learning. Online learning contributes to optimising levels of
student motivation, arousing interests and addressing student learning needs (Timmis &
Cook, 2004).

Social networking sites help to complement and leverage the practice of formal
education and improve learning outcomes (Brennan, 2001; Notley, 2010). Instant
messaging and Skype are becoming widespread in colleges and universities for students
to access information about school work. Facebook helps to enhance the communication
of pupils with their instructors and thus expand their self-esteem in educational activities
(Blanchard et al., 2007). Email enables young learners with lower level of social skills
develop friendship and strengthen individual interpersonal relationships (Besley, 2008).

2.3.1 The Story of WhatsApp

WhatsApp was established by Brian Anton and Ian Koom in 2009. It is a text
messaging mobile application for smartphones. Users can exchange text-based chats,
images, videos and audio media messages through Internet. It mostly depends on the

15
active Wi-Fi network system to provide online users the ability to send and receive
different social applications. Today, WhatsApp hits 800 million monthly active users
(WhatsApp, 2010). WhatsApp is a unified messaging app which is connected directly to
one’s phone number without any password or login. It has developed become more
intimate interpersonal network.

WhatsApp offers several benefits to its users. It is free and easy to use.
WhatsApp has been reported as a tool for information sharing and knowledge
construction. WhatsApp is used to share learning resources, leave comments, texting as
well as messaging. Apart from that, students use WhatsApp to create class publications
by publishing their work in the group. Students and instructors engage in meaningful
social interaction. WhatsApp facilitates online collaboration and communication and
promotes students’ school performance (Barhoumi, 2015).

2.4 Roles of WhatsApp in Promoting Higher Education Learning

Couple of years back, teaching and learning have been completed in a traditional
classroom setting. Teachers play an active role in conducting instructional activities
while students are always the passive recipients of knowledge. Some literature seems to
hold the view that university students prefer to be spoon-fed and they are quite well-
adapted to this ‘spoon-feeding’ learning approach (Comrie, 2015). However, with the
advancement of computer technology, various social networks have been used to foster
online learning. Integrating WhatsApp mobile learning into higher education classrooms
has brought significant changes to the conventional education settings (Veerappan et al.,
2014).

WhatsApp plays a great role in education. First, it acts as a useful tool for
education. As majority of the tertiary students perform online distance learning, more
often they concentrate on online studies, hoping that they will achieve targeted learning
outcomes. Thus, these learners who are also the active participants in the WhatsApp
group portal, make use of interaction with the app as it provides communication and
discussion for them to get through (Browne, 2003; Rich & Hilbert, 2004; Rogers, 2000).

16
Second, WhatsApp as an educational tool in virtual community helps students to contact
each other after lecture hours using the specific electronic networking system. Students
are able to catch up their studies through the active engagement in WhatsApp with peers
and instructors. WhatsApp has removed some of the formality of learning experiences
and engaged reluctant learners. It consequently raises their self-confidence (Attewell,
2004).

Other than that, WhatsApp has produced a sense of belonging among these
students. Most of the time students feel isolated in a virtual community. They wish to be
accepted for being part of a particular learning community. As a result, they want to be
connected to all the individuals who have shared the similarities with them. However,
the separation such as geographical boundaries and time factor have greatly reduced the
sense of community among students and thus giving rise to different feelings of
disconnection (Kerka, 1996), isolation, distraction, loneliness and lack of personal
attention (Besser & Donahue, 1996). These feelings of being alone are overcome when
students join an online community.

Despite the various educational benefits that WhatsApp provides to the higher
education classrooms, attention must be paid on how students develop a sense of
belonging to their academic community in order for them to have a successful online
learning. Previous research proves that strong feelings of classroom community can
improve students’ persistence in courses, as well as increase the information flow among
all learners, high availability of team support, personal commitment to group goals, full
cooperation among members, and great satisfaction with group efforts (Bruffee, 1993;
Dede, 1996; Wellman, 1999).

Also, learners advantage from being a member of virtual community by

experiencing a positive sense of well-being and by having a set of agreeable persons to
call on for support when needed (Walker, Wasserman & Wellman, 1994; Wellman &
Gulia, 1999). Students’ sense of community is generated from their active engagement
in online instructional activities, for instance, school students reporting a strong sense of
community are less likely to cut class, drop out of school, feel bad when unprepared for
classes and feel burned out at school (Royal & Rossi, 1996).

17
 Educator could get people to think of how sense of community can be stimulated
in virtual classrooms? Learners are physically separated. They interact with others using
text-based messages, with no seeing or hearing from each other and without the
necessity to be online in the meantime (Rovai, 2002). The role of WhatsApp as an
innovative e-learning measure gives learners a sense of belonging by promoting
effective learning community. Accordingly, online classroom community can be defined
in terms of four dimensions. They are spirit, trust, interaction, and commonality of
expectation and goals.

The first dimension to measure students’ sense of classroom community is spirit.

Spirit signifies the recognition of membership of the community through friendship,
social cohesion and team bond that develop among learners as they appreciate each other
and look forward to time together. Learners are able to challenge and nurture each other
through community spirit. Hence, a sense of connectedness will be generated for
students to feel being personally accepted, respected and included in the group. In
contrast, the lack of involvement in social interaction may influence the learners’ ability
to work well in studies, quite possibly leading to the feelings of loneliness, low self-
esteem, isolation and poor motivation (Gibbs, 1995).

Trust, the second dimension, is simply the feeling that the group can be trusted.
Doney and Cannon (1997) in their past research have noted that credibility and
benevolence are two main elements in trust. Credibility brings a desire for the learners in
the community to speak with confidence to other members of the group as their words
can be relied on whereas benevolence shows how learners are motivated to help others
in learning. Trust is established when members of the group feel safe and secure to give
feedback to each other in order to expose gaps in their learning. Without trust, social
interaction becomes formal. Learners do not promote diverse and constructive
interactions. Thus, it is hard for them to explain new ideas to their peers (Rovai, 2002).

Interaction is the third dimension of classroom community. It is essential in

developing sense of community. Peer interaction is important among students because
they feel being socially accepted and having a sense of belonging within the learning
community (Cuseo, Fecas & Thompson, 2010). High quality of interaction can be

18
carried out more along the learning process as it helps to foster learners’ sense of
community (May, 1993). Communication and peer discussion are social activities in
distance education for learners to search information and exchange opinions regarding to
their studies. However, students may experience a reduced sense of community due to
knowledge and personalities, communication styles, reluctance to criticize, fear of
criticism and confusion of feedback (Rovai, 2002).

The final dimension of classroom community refers to the common expectations

in learning. Learners need a shared faith and most important, they must be committed to
the common goals of learning. Members of the community believe that learning occurs
through collaboration in which people practise and share purposeful and patterned
activities (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Productive social interaction leads to a fruitful
learning. Community members grow to feel that their educational needs are being
satisfied through active participation in the community (Rovai, 2002). After examining
the four dimensions of classroom community, the next section will be focused on how
WhatsApp assists distance learning.

WhatsApp as a communication and collaboration tool facilitates higher

education learning. With the advanced social networking services, students become
active participants in virtual classrooms. They make friends and develop meaningful
friendship, as well as being a trusted partner in the e-learning community. These young
people have become content creators, managers and distributors in online activities by
uploading comments on the sharing sites. They are the good collaborators who always
support their own team players. WhatsApp has made them to become great explorers by
encouraging them to discover other people who share the similar interests as them. With
WhatsApp, students become independent and develop social skills which enable them to
interact with others in the community (Raman, Sani & Kaur, 2014).

Over the years, WhatsApp has become the major form of communication among
various student groups. Recently, there is growing use of WhatsApp for teachers and
students. Teachers use WhatsApp to interact with students in non-school hours (Bouhnik
& Deshen, 2014). In the present time, everyone prefers low cost, convenient, fast and
easy use social apps. Instead of sending and receiving messages, short dialogues and

19
conversations can be created through WhatsApp for peer discussion. Teachers and
students can also share and upload meaningful audio and video messages on the
particular WhatsApp portal. The ability of WhatsApp to lead on-going discussions
between teachers and students at anytime and anyplace has brought a sense of
community to both groups (Alsaleem, 2013).

Today, WhatsApp is frequently used in online instruction. Teachers can easily

cater for individual learning needs and students have the right to freedom of opinions
and expressions with no fear of being criticised. Informal learning takes place in the
community and expands a better relationship between tutors and pupils. The feeling of
being a part of the learning community has effectively adopted among group members.
It seems that students are more connected to the class by belonging to a WhatsApp
group (Bouhnik & Deshen, 2014). With teacher’s presence in the group, a sense of
respect appears within the group members.

The integration of WhatsApp into tertiary classrooms has brought positive

impacts on interpersonal communication. There is an increase of positive feedback from
pupils who claim that WhatsApp has made communication and peer discussion easier
and convenient. WhatsApp has been successful in building a mutual sense of belonging
to the online learning community. Students perform authentic learning. It has shown that
those in the authentic learning environment are motivated to learn (Bere, 2013).
WhatsApp has become an accessible e-learning platform for learners to share knowledge,
encourage peer cooperation, and intensify motivation to active participation in academic
(Chipunza, 2013).

To wrap things up, the rising success of WhatsApp has developed social
presence among learners. Social presence within a community enables its group
members to express identity-relevant behaviours. In doing so, they begin to accept the
presence of the other. As an outcome, students are encouraged to share their interests
and ideas in classroom. They feel being supported by people around them. Social
equality could then be generated among the group members as everybody in the learning
community has a right to interact with others. They have equal opportunities to
participate in the peer discussion (Lynch & Baker, 2005).

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2.5 Acceptance of WhatsApp among University Students

The proper use of ICT will foster educational learning, motivate students, and enhance
enjoyment, interests and sense of achievement among students (Yusuf, n.d.). This study
seeks to explore to what extent students are integrating ICT competencies in higher
education. The current research will assess students’ attitudes and actual usage of
WhatsApp in tertiary classrooms. Students are expected to master relevant knowledge
and skills of ICT, integrate positive attitudes towards e-learning and adopt WhatsApp
into learning. It is believed that students’ existing skills and attitudes on ICT may greatly
affect their adoption of WhatsApp for learning (Mulwa & Kyalo, 2013).

2.5.1 Students’ Knowledge and Skills of ICT

ICT is a must among school students. Students are taught the appropriate ICT
knowledge and skills since ICT education has been promoted to them at primary and
secondary levels. Students are competent in using ICT applications such as Internet,
Email, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Integration of appropriate computer technology
into classroom practice helps students to create meaningful learning experiences
(Daggett, 2010). The higher the level of knowledge and skills on ICT, the higher the
level of ICT use in education (Kandasamy & Shah, 2013).

2.5.2 Students’ Attitudes towards WhatsApp

Positive attitude towards ICT is a must for successful adoption of WhatsApp in schools.
Students should possess interests and motivation in WhatsApp learning in order to
improve their academic achievement. Students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp are shaped
by their personal experiences and value judgements over the use of computer in
education (Zigama, 2010). Students’ attitudes and computer experiences affect the
successful use of WhatsApp. The more positive attitudes students have towards
WhatsApp, the more effective the use of WhatsApp in school learning (Capan, 2012).

21
2.5.3 Students’ Practice of WhatsApp

Students nowadays are getting more advanced in handling technology devices and
software tools. They are confident and comfortable in using Whatsapp for individual
learning. The integration of WhatsApp in school classroom is effective as students are
familiar with the technology. It is noted that the more students use WhatsApp as a
learning tool, the more confident they gain for educational learning (Albion, 1996).
However, computer anxiety may cause students to reject the use of WhatsApp for
classroom learning.

2.6 Theoretical Framework

This study has selected Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as its theoretical
model. The TAM model was proposed by Davis in 1989. Essentially, TAM is an
information system theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology.
This model suggests that when users are presented with a new IT innovation, a number
of critical factors influence their decision about when and how they will use it (Davis,
1989).

‘Perceived usefulness’ is one of the strong factors in determining user acceptance,

adoption and usage of a technology (Mathieson, 1991). It is defined as “the degree to
which a person believes that using a particular technology system would enhance his or
her academic performance” (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989). It assumes that
technology will benefit the user in the performance of educational task. The more
positive one’s attitude towards technology usage, the better he/she performs in education.

‘Perceived ease-of-use’ is another key factor in technology acceptance. It refers

to “the degree to which a person believes that using a technology will be easy and free
from effort” (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989). The easier is a technology to be used,
the higher is its possibility to be adopted. It is the users’ estimation of the effort they will
have to put in to use a technology. ‘Perceived ease-of-use’ is advantageous for the early
acceptance of an innovation and it is necessary for technological adoption (Davis, 1989).

22
 In the present study, TAM investigates the relationships between students’
personal characteristics such as gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience for
educational use, year of study and their adoption of WhatsApp in instructional activities.
TMA will also measure students’ attitudes towards the WhatsApp use in higher
education classrooms. Most past studies have demonstrated that users’ characteristics
and attitudes may impact the innovation use.

Polizzi (2011) in his past research has found that users’ perceptions will
influence their attitudes and these attitudes will then affect their intention to use a
technology. TMA has been adopted to guide the study of students’ characteristics and
attitudes towards the adoption of WhatsApp in university. Never forget, the successful
integration of any technology into the classroom reflects students’ acceptance of the
technology usefulness (Jhurree, 2005).

2.7 Conceptual Framework

The term ‘conceptual framework’ has been defined as a visual or written

presentation that explains the main things to be studied. For instance, key factors,
concepts or variables, and the presumed relationships among them (Miles & Huberman,
1994). It is a diagrammatic presentation of a theory. The research variables and the
relationships between them are translated into a visual picture to illustrate the
interconnections between the independent and dependent variables (Onen & Oso, 2009).

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

Independent Variables Moderating Variables Dependent Variables

Students’ Students’ Adoption of WhatsApp

characteristics (gender, attitudes among students at
towards universities and major
age, subject, WhatsApp
WhatsApp higher education
experience, study year) mobile learning institutions

Source : Researcher, 2016

23
 In this study, ‘student characteristics and attitudes towards WhatsApp’ is viewed
as the independent variables whereas ‘adoption of WhatsApp’ acts as the dependent
variables. The independent variables in the research have a strong relation to the
dependent variables in the study. The framework tends to guide the relationships
between independent and dependent variables, with independent variables directly
influence dependent variables in the research study.

2.8 Factors Affecting Students’ Adoption of WhatsApp in Higher Education

Researchers have investigated factors influencing the adoption of WhatsApp among

students in collaborative learning. The general objectives of this study are to assess the
effects of WhatsApp use on higher education classrooms and identify factors that slow
down the adoption of WhatsApp among university students. Understanding the factors
that influence the WhatsApp usage on students helps students to take ownership of the
learning process.

Personal Characteristics

Students’ characteristics such as gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience and
year of study will influence their adoption and integration of WhatsApp into learning
(Schiller, 2003). In other way, ICT practice takes a back seat to conventional learning
mechanisms if students are faced with anxiety, fear, lack of confidence and competence
in operating computer tools (Russell & Bradley, 1997). Therefore, schools should
always ensure students are well trained on ICT knowledge and skills.

Students’ Attitudes

Students’ attitudes towards technology influence their acceptance of the usefulness of a

technology and its integration into learning (Huang & Liaw, 2005). Students’ positive
attitudes towards the educational use of technology make the adoption and integration of
WhatsApp into learning easy (Buabeng-Andoh, 2012). Moreover, the more computer
experiences students have, the more positive attitudes they will show towards WhatsApp
learning (Rozell & Gardner, 1999).

24
Accessibility

Availability and accessibility to ICT infrastructures and resources are required for
schools to facilitate ICT adoption (Plomp et al., 2009). Students access to technology
resources such as Internet, updated software and hardware tools to ensure effective use
of ICT in learning (Yildirim, 2007). If students cannot access ICT resources, for use they
will not utilize them. Therefore, it is essential for schools to improve the availability and
fairness of access to technology resources (Buabeng-Andoh, 2012).

2.9 Summary

This chapter takes a look at the previous studies about the adoption of ICT in developing
countries. A few research articles on general utilization of ICT tools in tertiary education
have been conducted by researchers in the local community for the purpose of getting a
clear picture on the overall development of educational technology in higher education
classrooms. The past research studies have indicated that using social media as an
educational tool in academic coursework increases the learning achieved by an
individual student. Social media supports collaborative learning. Students’ personal
characteristics and attitudes can influence their adoption of WhatsApp in university
collages. Therefore, this literature review is intended to provide useful insights about
students’ acceptance for WhatsApp learning.

25
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This study has adopted a quantitative approach to studying students’ awareness

and acceptance of WhatsApp mobile learning. It is a pure quantitative research in which
researcher holds 100% of quantitative methodologies to determine the relationship
between dependent and independent variables (Kombo & Tromp, 2006).

Quantitative research gathers numerical data or information that can be

converted into numbers and makes use of tools such as questionnaires, surveys,
measurements and other equipment to manipulate statistical data using computer
techniques (Babbie, 2010).

Data are analysed in order to test hypotheses and answer research questions. A
large sample size is used in the quantitative research to obtain statistically meaningful
data. The information collected using research tools that are objective helps to generate
accurate research findings (Mugenda & Mugenda, 1999).

Quantitative approach is more suitable to be adopted in this study if compared to

qualitative. In fact, both methods are appropriate for conducting research since each of
them can contribute greatly to the body of scientific knowledge. Researcher should be
alert to the types of research methods used in the study.

3.1 Research Design

A research design is a plan, strategy and structure investigation that used to

obtain answers to research questions (Kumar, 2002). Researchers are able to answer
research questions as validly, accurately and objectively through an appropriate research
design (Kerlinger, 1986).

26
 Researcher has employed survey design for this study in which the researcher
wishes to get precise information and generalize conclusive research results. A survey
research design collects information by administering a questionnaire to a sample of
population.

Survey provides accurate data analysis to describe specific characteristics of a

large group of population (Jaeger, 1988). A survey is also a descriptive research study
which is concerned with hypothesis formulation and testing. It is less costly and study
participants are able to follow through the end of the research.

Overall, survey is considered as a method of gathering standardised information

using various research instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and observations
from the representative samples of that population (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). It
involves direct contact with the target population.

Researchers are usually interested in a particular issue or phenomenon. They

tend to gauge people’s opinions about various issues to find out what people think and
how they respond to the topic discussed. Consequently, survey is a technique where the
general opinion of a population is generalized (Visser, Krosnick & Lavrakas, 2014).

This research has adopted a cross-sectional survey. It involves collecting

information from the respondents in a target population at a single period. Cross-
sectional survey utilizes questionnaire to ask about a particular topic and it is usually
being used to identify the relationship between two variables (Olsen & St George, 2004).

For example, researcher might examine the attitudes of tertiary students towards
adoption of WhatsApp in university colleges. At the same time, researcher might ask the
students to complete a questionnaire regarding their views and concerns in using
WhatsApp as a learning tool.

Cross-sectional study can be conducted relatively quickly. It allows researchers

to compare many different variables at the same time. In the present study, researcher
could look at gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience and year of study in
relation to students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp (Institute for Work and Health, 2015).

27
3.2 Population, Samples and Sampling

In a research study, population, samples and sampling are three of the essential elements
for the researchers to design and develop appropriate strategies and techniques in order
to generalize a systematic research finding.

3.2.1 Population of the Study

There are many remarkable tertiary education institutions in Ipoh town. Majority
of the colleges and universities offer distance learning courses that enable educators and
learners perform online education. A criterion has been set by the researcher that only
students from Ipoh higher education institutions are allowed to participate in this study.

Researcher has taken this measure to make sure that students who take part in
this study have accessed to the essential ICT knowledge and skills for supporting their
school learning. The respondents are supposed to possess positive attitudes towards ICT
use in academic learning since they are emotionally mature enough.

Consequently, among all public higher learning institutions in Ipoh, three are
selected as they have met the criterion set. The number of students participating in the
survey is thirty. These students are the representative samples of a large population who
participate in the survey research.

3.2.2 Sample Size and Sampling Technique

Sampling may be defined as a process of selecting some part of an aggregate or

totality, on the basis of making a judgement or inference about that aggregate or totality
(Kothari, 2009). The ideal survey sample size recommends a 30% sample or response
rate of a target population (Kathuri & Pals, 1993). A large sample size in survey helps to
generate valid results for the research study.

Simple random sampling is used to select a representative sample from the group
being studied. It is to ensure that every member of the target population has an equal
opportunity of being chosen as the sample of the study without bias (Onen & Oso, 2008).

28
Sampling method enables researchers to study a proportion of the population rather than
a whole. Purposive sampling is appropriate for quantitative study.

The main goal of drawing a sample is to obtain information about the study
population. Sampling technique can be classified into two categories which are
probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In this study, researcher prefers non-
probability sampling technique. With non-probability sampling, researcher uses
whatever individuals are available rather than selecting from the entire population.

In educational studies, we often observe a convenient sample, for instance,

taking available classes as samples. Samples refer to those who voluntarily participate in
a survey. Volunteers are responded to a questionnaire asking about questions on various
aspects and answer them sincerely. Researcher may send another copy of questionnaire
to the non-respondents appeal for their participation.

Researcher will choose samples using his or her knowledge and professional
judgement in order to stimulate the production of desired information for the study of
research. Sometimes, the researcher’s judgement may be wrong. He or she may select a
wrong sample and accept the sampling error without being good estimate. Therefore,
researcher needs to identify expertise regarding the information obtained.

Researcher aims to have thirty participants as the sample of subjects taken for
this study. As many as 30 students from Ipoh higher education institutions are selected at
random to participate in the survey. A questionnaire is administered in person to collect
research information about a pertinent topic. Samples of thirty are contributed to the
reliable data in the study.

3.3 Period of Study

During the early year of 2016, researcher has conducted a study regarding WhatsApp
mobile learning among colleges and universities in Ipoh, Perak. A total of 30 students
from Ipoh higher education institutions have participated in a self-administered survey,
starting March, 2016. Data and sources collected will be analysed the next two months

29
to generate results for the research findings. A discussion of the study’s results will be
published in a general report at the end of May. The final project report will be
submitted to the School of Education, Languages and Communication, Wawasan Open
University in June.

3.3.1 Location of Research

This study is carried out by researcher in Ipoh, the capital city of Perak state. It is
bordered in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Many of the colleges and
universities around the city provide higher quality educational learning to the local
students. Consequently, tertiary education institutions in Ipoh have been selected by the
researcher as the subject of study.

3.4 Instrumentation

Data collection instruments refer to the tools researchers use to gather data. Emphasis
has been put on how these tools are developed (Onen & Oso, 2008). In this study,
information is collected by questionnaire. The questionnaire acts as the measured tool in
the research.

3.4.1 Questionnaire

Questionnaire has been considered as the heart of a survey operation (Kothari,

2009). It is a device dealing with questions of psychology, social and education. The
respondents should be given a series of questions, with the aim of collecting data with
regards to the research problems. Apart from seeking information about certain
conditions and issues in educational research, a questionnaire is used to inquire into
opinions and attitudes of individuals (Koul, 1993). Questionnaires are important
instruments for gathering factual information, generating numerical data and being able
to be administered without the presence of the researcher (Cohen, Manion & Morvison,
2000).

30
 In this study, the questionnaire for students consists of five sections. Section 1
comprising structured questions concerned with the demographic details of students
such as gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience and year of study. Respondents
are required to provide background information on demographic characteristics as it is
useful in finding the nature of respondents. Section 2 of the questionnaire has sought
information related to the competency level of knowledge and skills the respondents
required in ICT learning. This section consists of a four point rating scale comprising
“Very competent, Competent, Somehow competent and Not competent”. Respondents
are asked to indicate their levels of computing abilities.

Section 3 is to seek information on students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp

adoption. A five point Likert scale with options of “Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided,
Disagree and Strongly disagree” is used to indicate the level of acceptance among
respondents in terms of awareness and motivation in utilizing WhatsApp. Section 4 of
the questionnaire has sought information on the level of usage of WhatsApp among
university students. Respondents are asked to tick on the alternatives provided and rank
the benefits of using WhatsApp. Section 5 reveals the various factors influencing
students’ adoption of WhatsApp. Respondents are required to select the related answers.

3.5 Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments

In conducting an educational research, validity and reliability are two important issues
for the selection of measures. Therefore, researchers should take care in making sure that
the results of findings are valid and reliable. The study results will be standardized if
instruments used in the research are highly reliable and scientifically valid.

3.5.1 Validity of the Research Instruments

Validity refers to the ability of an instrument to measure what it purports to measure. It

is the accuracy, meaningfulness and the degree to which results obtained from the data
analysis actually represent the phenomenon under study (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003).
To ensure validity, researcher has sought help from the academic experts to standardize

31
the research instruments. Judgement and advice are used to improve questionnaire.
Researcher hopes the findings of study will meet the requirement of validity.

3.5.2 Reliability of the Research Instruments

Reliability is defined as a measure of how consistent the results from a test are (Kombo
& Tromp, 2006). A measure is said to be reliable if it is consistent, stable, accurate,
dependable or predictable (Kerlinger, 1973). Cronbach Alpha Reliability Coefficient is
the most common measure of internal consistency. It helps to reduce time calculate a
reliability coefficient in other methods. It is a more conservative method to estimate
reliability. Therefore, a value of 0.7 and above reliability coefficient is acceptable and it
proves an instrument is reliable. It implies that a set of items that correlate highly among
themselves. Hence, there exists consistency among the items in measuring the concept
of interest (Mugenda & Mugenda, 1999).

3.6 Data Collection

A survey study involves data gathering techniques such as personal face to face
interview, telephone survey, mail questionnaire, direct survey and online questionnaire.
Information is collected from a group of individuals in order to describe the sociological
aspects of group behaviours. These include the abilities, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and
knowledge of the particular population.

The main mode of data collection is through asking questions. The respondents
are required to answer the questions provided. Meanwhile, researcher should always
remind the respondents about the confidentiality in the information given while
responding to the items in the questionnaire. It is to make sure that the private and
sensitive issues of respondents are secure.

In the conducting study, researcher first obtains a letter of introduction from

WOU. A research permit is applied from the Ministry of Higher Education.
Authorization letter is used for accessing the university colleges in Ipoh. Researcher then

32
visits to the selected higher education institutions to conduct a survey. After delivering
research instruments, researcher administers and collects data for analysis.

3.7 Data Analysis

Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is a software package used for
statistical analysis. Data obtained will be coded, edited and imputated before it is
transferred to computer for analysis. The research findings are analysed using SPSS 22.
A good first step in the data analysis is to summarize the data using descriptive statistics,
in which the researcher counts the responses for each level of a given variable. The
counts or frequencies are then being converted into percentages to describe the
demographic details of the respondents.

The second step involves the selection of appropriate statistical test. Researcher
should check that the data meets all assumptions that are required for the test. This study
has adopted t-test and ANOVA to find the valid results. The t-test is used to test
differences in means between two groups whereas ANOVA is used to compare the
means of more than two groups. The value obtained from both tests is used to reject or
validate the hypothesis stated in the research questions. Six hypothesis questions are to
be tested out in the research. An accurate research finding leads to a fair and proven
discussion.

3.8 Ethical Considerations

To conduct a research study, researcher must first get approval from the university by
informing the respected supervisor and course coordinator about the start of the study.
There should be approval from other authorities as well, for instance, the Ministry of
Higher Education. Moreover, researcher should explain in clear to the respondents on
the purpose of study, methods adopted for the study and maintain confidentiality while
presenting information to the respondents. It is important for researchers to have ethical
considerations in conducting a study.

33
3.9 Summary

This chapter presents the descriptions of research design and different methodological
approaches adapted to the study in order to obtain accurate research findings. Overall,
chapter three outlines the population of study, the sample size and sampling techniques,
the study area, the period of study, the research instrumentation, the validity and
reliability, the data collection procedures, the data analysis, the ethical considerations
and the summary of chapter 3.

34
 CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.0 Introduction

A sample size of 30 university students has been chosen randomly to participate

in the survey enrolled by the researcher. The study collects data from the sample groups
using questionnaire. All respondents have completed and returned the questionnaire
correctly. There is a 100% of response rate among the participants. Descriptive analysis
is conducted, t-test and ANOVA are used to analyse the research questions in the study.
The validity and reliability of the questionnaire are reviewed by the project supervisor.

This study is carried out to investigate the adoption of WhatsApp instant

messaging among the higher education students in Ipoh. The objectives of the study are
to identify the various categories of social networking sites used by students, to examine
the extent of usage and level of ICT competencies of university students carrying on
learning, to determine the educational benefits of using WhatsApp and to reveal the
factors slow down the adoption of WhatsApp mobile device at tertiary education.

Accordingly, this study aims to explore the attitudes of students towards the use
of WhatsApp mobile learning in the higher education institutions. It measures the
learners’ attitudes through their perceiving of usefulness using WhatsApp in the context
of the educational environment. The differences in attitudes among the representative
samples lead to an understanding of the required WhatsApp learning characteristics for
learners to increase their intention towards the use and acceptance of such technology.

Different hypotheses have been examined to test whether there is a significant

difference among students’ attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp mobile learning in
terms of gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience for educational purposes and
year of study. The results of findings are used to indicate the acceptance or rejection of
the stated hypotheses. An interpretation of the findings and a presentation of the results
will be done based on the decision made on the hypotheses.

35
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

This section presents the background information of students’ characteristics. The

respondents are required to provide personal information on gender, age, subject area,
WhatsApp experience for educational use and year of study in order for researcher to
test hypotheses on these variables. This demographic information is also useful in
finding the nature of the respondents.

4.1.1 Distribution of Respondents by Gender

Table 1. Gender of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Male 15 50.0 50.0 50.0
Female 15 50.0 50.0 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that the sample was comprised of 50% male and 50% female
respondents. This representation reflects that both male and female students possess
equal opportunities to learn regardless of gender.

4.1.2 Distribution of Respondents by Age

Table 2. Age of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 15-25 10 33.3 33.3 33.3
26-35 10 33.3 33.3 66.7
36-45 9 30.0 30.0 96.7
above 46 1 3.3 3.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that the two age groups, 15 to 25 and 26 to 35, made up 66.6% of the
sample. About 30% of the respondents aged between 36 and 45 years old. Only 3.3% or
one person whose age was 46 years old and above. This explains that most university
students access to higher education at a young age. Many middle-aged adults returning
to college for continuous professional learning as they wish to expand their knowledge.

36
4.1.3 Distribution of Respondents by Subject Area

Table 3. Subject area of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Science&Technology 6 20.0 20.0 20.0
Account&Finance 11 36.7 36.7 56.7
Education&Psychology 13 43.3 43.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 43.3% of the respondents were from Education and Psychology
majors while students in Account and Finance, Science and Technology were 36.7% and
20% respectively. All respondents have already picked their academic majors starting
their first semester and most of them have selected traditional majors.

4.1.4 Distribution of Respondents by WhatsApp Experience for Educational Use

Table 4. Whatsapp Experience for Educational Use

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Less than 1 year 9 30.0 30.0 30.0
1 to 2 years 10 33.3 33.3 63.3
More than 2
11 36.7 36.7 100.0
years
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that most of the respondents (36.7%) reported using the WhatsApp for
more than 2 years, one-third of the respondents (33.3%) having experience using
WhatsApp for 1 to 2 years and 30% of them used WhatsApp less than 1 year. As regards
to user experience, majority of the students are the early adopter of WhatsApp. Figure 2.

37
4.1.5 Distribution of Respondents by Study Year

Table 5. Study year of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 1 5 16.7 16.7 16.7
2 10 33.3 33.3 50.0
3 8 26.7 26.7 76.7
4 7 23.3 23.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that the second year respondents were rated the highest for 33.3%,
about 26.7% of respondents were in their third year, followed by the fourth year
respondents (23.3%). Only 16.7% of the respondents were in their first year of college.
It can be concluded that students who enter for second, third and fourth years are more
mature and more informed about the survey options compared to those in first year who
have just left school and started university.

4.2 Respondents’ Basic Information on ICT

Question 6 on the questionnaire required the respondents to specify the various

ICT devices they used to connect to the Internet. 46.7% of the students owned
smartphones and connected to the Internet from mobile devices. Desktop and iPad
Internet users made up of 20% each and 13.3% preferred laptops. The availability of
Internet is convenient and students are easy and comfortable to access ICT resources.

Question 7 on the questionnaire referred to the specific location the respondents

accessed Internet. Of the respondents to the survey, 36.7% of the students accessed the
Internet from home, 20% from Internet café, 16.7% from computer lab on campus and
13.3% each from workplace and hotspots on town. Students have high exposure to
Internet and location such as home offers favourable environment for ICT learning.

Question 8 on the questionnaire concerned with the number of times the

respondents accessing Internet. 36.7% of the respondents accessed Internet several times
per day, 30% of them got online once a day, 16.7% browsed the web once a week
38
whereas 10% of the respondents spent several times per week to explore Internet. Only
6.7% of them viewed online content several times per month. Frequency of Internet use
determines students’ efficiency in ICT affairs and helps in building ICT competence.

Question 9 on the questionnaire posed to the respondents if they had any social
networking profiles. A total of 73.3% of the respondents indicated that they possessed
various social network profiles and participated actively on social networks. The rest of
the respondents (26.7%) claimed that they did not have any social media accounts since
they had never created them before. Most of the students are consistently keep up with
the latest social media trends while those who have not are encouraged to do so.

Question 10 on the questionnaire was necessary for the respondents to reveal

different social networking sites used by students. Almost half of the respondents
(46.7%) had accessed to a WhatsApp account, 20% of them preferred Facebook, and
13.3% were active users of YouTube. About 20% of the students were most likely to use
other platforms like Twitter and Instagram. WhatsApp has become one of the most
popular social applications among students since it is free of charge and user-friendly.

4.3 Level of Adoption of ICT among Tertiary School Students

This section tends to establish the level of ICT skills possessed by students in higher
education learning. An ICT competence scale adapted from Algozzine and Flowers
(2000) is used to measure the students’ perceived ICT competence. Respondents were
required to rate their competency levels in operating basic computer applications such as
Words, Excel, Power Point, Email, Internet, Blog, Wiki and Instant Messenger. The four
point rating scale comprises the following items:

Very Competent – Able to teach others the right way to perform an ICT task

Competent – Able to complete an ICT task

Somehow Competent – Able to perform an ICT task with assistance

Not Competent – Not able to perform an ICT task

39
Research Question 1: To what extent is students’ competence with ICT applications?

Table 6. Overall Competent level

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Somehow
1 3.3 3.3 3.3
Competent
Competent 16 53.3 53.3 56.7
Very Competent 13 43.3 43.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that the overall percentages of students’ competence level in using ICT
were 53.3% for ‘Competent’, 43.3% for ‘Very Competent’ and 3.3% for ‘Somehow
Competent’. Surprisingly, none of the respondents fell into the category of ‘Not
Competence’. This shows that majority of the students (either ‘Competent’ or “Very
Competent’) are competent in handling the basic ICT applications. They are fully ICT
literate and have great potential in ICT learning. Their perceived ICT competence is a
direct consequence of effective ICT access, relevant training programs, supportive
computer technology and their persistence over time on ICT.

Figure 3.

All eight items below have relations with students’ ICT competence. The distribution of
frequencies and percentages of these items are measured using a four point rating scale
comprising ‘not competent’, ‘somehow competent’, ‘competent’ and ‘very competent’.
40
 Table 7. Word processing of respondents
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Somehow
5 16.7 16.7 16.7
competent
Competent 15 50.0 50.0 66.7
Very competent 10 33.3 33.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 50% of the respondents were competent and possessed good
knowledge on using MS Word. It is a common application used by students in their
studies. 33.3% of them reported very competent in word processing as they had
excellent skills in typing notes, making documents and presenting texts in various
formats. Only 16.7% of the students regarded themselves had little capability in
operating Word. They were somehow competent and required assistance from others to
complete the given tasks.

Table 8. MS Excel of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Not competent 4 13.3 13.3 13.3
Somehow
11 36.7 36.7 50.0
competent
Competent 9 30.0 30.0 80.0
Very competent 6 20.0 20.0 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 50% of the respondents (either ‘not competent’ or ‘somehow
competent’) were less competent in using MS Excel. Many of them have little
experience with Excel as it is usually used for data analysis and graphic presentation. It
even takes time for students to develop a new skill. However, another half of the
respondents (50%) made up of ‘competent’ and ‘very competent’ users were fast
learning Excel as they were introduced early to this application in the primary education
and they had mastered the relevant skills associated with Excel. Due to the usefulness of
such application, students are encouraged to learn and acquire Excel as it helps them to
achieve effective learning outcomes.

41
 Table 9. Power Point of respondents
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Somehow
3 10.0 10.0 10.0
competent
Competent 17 56.7 56.7 66.7
Very competent 10 33.3 33.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 90% of the respondents acquired good knowledge on Power Point.
It is a major skill used by students in making lesson presentation during classroom
studies. Only 10% of the respondents were somehow competent in using this application.
It may due to the reasons that they are struggling with the complicated procedures in
preparing Power Point slides and lack of guidance and support from the experts.

Table 10. Emailing of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Somehow
8 26.7 26.7 26.7
competent
Competent 13 43.3 43.3 70.0
Very competent 9 30.0 30.0 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 43.3% of the respondents were competent in sending emails to
their peers and instructors. 30% of them even performed excellent skills in emailing
tasks. They created emails to inform educational agenda. As compared to those were
good at this application, 26.7% of the respondents were somehow competent in dealing
with emailing as they were not familiar with it and requested help from others.

Table 11. Internet browsing of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Competent 7 23.3 23.3 23.3
Very
23 76.7 76.7 100.0
competent
Total 30 100.0 100.0

42
Results indicated that all of the respondents felt competent in browsing Internet. 76.7%
of the respondents were knowledgeable in conducting various online activities such as
sharing ICT resources, engaging in discussion forums and developing meaningful
communication among the learners. 23.3% of them were comfortable and satisfied in
using such application as it offered unlimited information to the users.

Table 12. Blog of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Not competent 10 33.3 33.3 33.3
Somehow
15 50.0 50.0 83.3
competent
Competent 3 10.0 10.0 93.3
Very competent 2 6.7 6.7 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that most of the respondents fell into the categories of ‘not competent’
and ‘somehow competent’. Their rating (83.3%) reflected that they were incompetent in
using blog. Blog is not common among the students; hence, they spend less time on it. In
contrast, only 16.7% of them possessed knowledge on blog application. It may because
they have experience in writing personal blogs and posting microblogging.

Table 13. Wiki of respondents

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Not competent 17 56.7 56.7 56.7
Somehow
8 26.7 26.7 83.3
competent
Competent 3 10.0 10.0 93.3
Very competent 2 6.7 6.7 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 83.3% of the respondents felt least competent in using Wiki. They
may think that Wiki has less contribution to their studies and do not consider any
educational benefits. On the other hand, a number of 16.7% of the respondents used
Wiki to search learning materials in order to present them in their daily lessons. Wiki
has been a useful source of information for them.
43
 Table 14. Instant messenger of respondents
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Competent 11 36.7 36.7 36.7
Very
19 63.3 63.3 100.0
competent
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that a total of 100% of the respondents were good at using instant
messenger. It is one of the most popular social networking applications among the
university students since it is convenient and easy to use. Youths were fast adapted to
this application due to the latest trends of social media. They were familiar with it and
used it to interact with their peers.

4.3.1 Knowledge Possessed by Students in Using ICT Applications

Section 2 of the questionnaire designs to assess the students’ knowledge of some

basic concepts in applying ICT applications. Students’ knowledge of different computer
applications has positive impacts on their academic achievement. Generally, the results
indicated that students’ ICT knowledge was adequate and showed good abilities in using
ICT applications.

Results showed that majority of the respondents (93.3%) preferred using email to
send learning resources as it was quick and convenient. Due to the popularity of various
categories of social media tools, 96.7% of the students used social networking sites to
assist their studies. With online discussion boards and forums, 90% of them were able to
share ideas between participants.

Moreover, the study showed that 90% of the students contacted their lecturers
and peers online after school hours. 60% of them used to upload learning materials from
websites while 56.7% learned English online with interactive audios and videos. 53.3%
of the respondents had written electronic essay and experienced a computer-based exam.
Results lastly indicated that 73.3% of the students had received certain types of
computer training at schools.

44
4.4 Students Perceived Attitudes towards WhatsApp

This section tends to establish the attitudes of students towards WhatsApp mobile
learning in higher education classrooms. An attitude scale adapted from Bicen and
Uzunboylu (2013) is used to measure the learners’ perceived attitudes and opinions
regarding WhatsApp. A list of statements implying both positive and negative attitudes
towards WhatsApp was given to the respondents. They were required to rate their extent
of agreement on those attitudes portrayed to them. A five point Likert scale was used
and each item was rated from ‘Strongly Agree’, ‘Agree’, ‘Undecided’, ‘Disagree’ and
‘Strongly Disagree’.

Research Question 2: What are the attitudes of students towards WhatsApp mobile
learning?

Students showed positive attitudes towards ICT and majority of them agreed with the
positive statements concerning the attitudes towards adoption of WhatsApp. The results
indicated that 80% of the respondents (either agree or strongly agree) affirmed that
WhatsApp as an important educational tool. 70% of them agreed that WhatsApp
supported their learning with addable materials. 86.6% said that WhatsApp helped
learners to develop team work skills. 73.3% of the students posited that WhatsApp
enabled them to share information and comment ideas within peers. Another 83.3% felt
that WhatsApp had greatly increased their learning interests and motivation.

53.3% of the respondents stated that WhatsApp helped learning better whereas 66.7%
believed that WhatsApp learning made them excited. 76.7% of them completely agreed
that WhatsApp increased their participation in learning, helped them understanding
difficult concepts and consequently changed the way they learned. A number of 63.3%
claimed that WhatsApp enhanced study grades and considered it as a useful tool for
online discussion. A total of 90% respondents strongly agreed that WhatsApp promoted
a sense of belonging among them. All students found out that WhatsApp maintained
social relationship and made communication effectively.

Despite various positive statements made, there were other negative statements in which
students disagreed with. 80% of the respondents (either disagree or strongly disagree)

45
refused to accept the statements that WhatsApp made lessons uninteresting and did not
allow learners to express thoughts openly. 83.4% of them disagreed that WhatsApp
stressed them out as it was not easy to use. Lastly, 86.6% of the students did not show
agreement on the fact that WhatsApp created technical problems for them. Overall, the
presentation of the findings indicated that students portrayed positive and acceptable
attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning.

4.4.1 Attitude Mean Scores for the Frequency Counts from the Statements

Section 3 of the questionnaire distributed 20 attitude items to indicate students’ opinions

towards WhatsApp mobile learning. Mean scores for each statement was calculated and
the overall mean scores for the entire list of statements were used to symbolize the
favourable or unfavourable feelings of the respondents in adopting WhatsApp in higher
education. The mean scores ranged 1 to 3 indicated an unfavourable feeling among the
respondents whereas 3 to 5 represented their favourable feelings towards WhatsApp.

Table 15. Attitude mean

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 2.80 1 3.3 3.3 3.3
2.90 2 6.7 6.7 10.0
3.05 1 3.3 3.3 13.3
3.10 2 6.7 6.7 20.0
3.15 1 3.3 3.3 23.3
3.30 4 13.3 13.3 36.7
3.35 1 3.3 3.3 40.0
3.40 4 13.3 13.3 53.3
3.50 3 10.0 10.0 63.3
3.55 4 13.3 13.3 76.7
3.60 1 3.3 3.3 80.0
3.75 1 3.3 3.3 83.3
3.80 2 6.7 6.7 90.0
3.85 1 3.3 3.3 93.3
4.00 1 3.3 3.3 96.7
4.05 1 3.3 3.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

46
The results revealed that out of the total respondents, only 3 (10%) showed unfavourable
feelings towards adoption of WhatsApp. Their individual range of means was below 3
which implied that they were not positive in adopting WhatsApp. Suggestions such as
peer supports and cooperative learning were given to them in order to promote their
adoption of WhatsApp in studies. On the other hand, the mean scores for favourable
feelings ranged from 3.05 to 4.05 which indicated that 90% of the students possessed
positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning. Students’ attitudes towards
WhatsApp greatly affected the successful integration of WhatsApp into schools.

Table 16. Descriptive Statistics

Std.
N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation
Attitudemean 30 2.80 4.05 3.4233 .31287
Valid N
(listwise) 30

An overall mean score of 3.4233 deciding that students were favourable in adopting new
social media tools such as WhatsApp mobile device to enhance their learning. They
should display more efforts in promoting the use of ICT as they would gain different
advantages from using such technology.

Figure 4.

47
4.5 Benefits of WhatsApp for Educational Purposes

This section tends to establish the various advantages of using social networking sites.
Students in higher education experienced WhatsApp mobile learning and developed
self-directed and independent learning. A summary of benefits on using WhatsApp
adapted from Zanamwe, Rupere and Kufandirimbwa (2013) is used to explore the
benefits students acquire from using such technology. Respondents would have to rank
the benefits according to their importance in education. Rank 1 was considered the most
important while 10 referred to the least important among those all.

Research Question 3: What are the educational benefits of WhatsApp to students?

Students used WhatsApp mobile device for educational learning and majority of them
gained a lot of benefits from using it. The creation of WhatsApp had brought significant
impacts on students’ learning. Students should take advantage of these awesome benefits
in order to enhance their studies. The results indicated that 43.3% of the respondents
believed that WhatsApp fostered learning. They had ranked it as the most important
benefit students acquired along learning process. 40% of the respondents realized that
WhatsApp enhanced social skills. They had ranked it as the second important benefit
students obtained through WhatsApp. 36.7% of the respondents thought WhatsApp
improved creativity and innovativeness. It was ranked as the third important benefit.
33.3% of the respondents agreed that WhatsApp learning could extend beyond
classroom. Therefore, students ranked it as the fourth important benefit. 30% of the
respondents found out that WhatsApp improved technology proficiency. It was the fifth
important benefit in the list. 26.7% of the respondents stated that WhatsApp encouraged
collaborative problem solving. It referred to the sixth important benefit in WhatsApp
education. 23.3% of the respondents pointed out that WhatsApp enabled students to
communicate in new ways with new people and facilitated group projects. They were
the next two important benefits WhatsApp provided to the students. 20% of the
respondents reflected that WhatsApp improved receptivity to new ideas and allowed
students to learn new things in new ways. Students had ranked them as the last two
important benefits in WhatsApp mobile learning. Overall, students’ active engagement
in WhatsApp mobile learning increased their educational performance.

48
4.5.1 Students Experiences of WhatsApp Mobile Learning

Section 4 of the questionnaire focuses on the practice of WhatsApp among students in

higher education institutions. 90% of the respondents used WhatsApp before. However,
not all of them owned WhatsApp account. Only 76.7% created user profiles. Out of
these users, 46.6% used WhatsApp on a daily basis, 33.3% weekly and 20% monthly.
36.7% of them spent more than 3 hours per day on WhatsApp, 26.7% for 1 to 3 hours,
23.3% for 30 to 60 minutes and 13.3% for less than half hour.

Students used WhatsApp for different reasons. 30% of the respondents considered peer
influence as the major factor in adopting WhatsApp. 23.3% of them used WhatsApp to
communicate instantly with a group of people such as friends and family. 20% reflected
WhatsApp as a convenient and user friendly tool. 16.7% of the students thought
WhatsApp was free of charge and easy to use. Only 10% of the respondents used
WhatsApp to express personal feelings.

Students used WhatsApp for certain purposes. 86.6% of the respondents used WhatsApp
for education and social activities while 13.4% used WhatsApp for e-commerce and job
hunting. 30% of them spent more than 20 hours per week for WhatsApp, 26.7% for 15
to 20 hours, 20& for 10 to15 hours, 13.3% for 5 to 10 hours and 10% for less than 5
hours. It indicated that those spent more time on WhatsApp activities were more
competent in completing ICT educational tasks.

Generally, 86.7% of the respondents agreed that WhatsApp should be used in education.
Students were encouraged to conduct educational activities to improve their academic
studies. Survey had showed that 43.3% of the students used WhatsApp to share learning
resources. 23.3% of them performed online group discussion with peers and instructors.
20% of the respondents had formed online study groups as WhatsApp was used as a
platform for virtual group studies. 13.3% used WhatsApp to inform educational agenda.

As a whole, students’ experiences of WhatsApp mobile learning were valuable as they

promoted self-learning among students and developed social presence in a learning
community. They helped learners to interact more intimately and enhance educational
performance.

49
4.6 Factors Affecting the Adoption of WhatsApp among Students

This section tends to establish the various factors influencing students’ adoption of
WhatsApp in colleges and universities. A list of factors adapted from Apeanti and Danso
(2013) is used to investigate the major concerns of students about using WhatsApp.
Participants were asked to respond to the statements given.

Research Question 4: What are the factors influencing students’ participation and
adoption of WhatsApp?

Table 17. Factors influencing adoption item 1

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 9 30.0 30.0 30.0
Yes 21 70.0 70.0 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 70% of the respondents were concerned about their personal
privacy. They might feel unsecured and worried about the issues of confidentiality.

Table 18. Factors influencing adoption item 2

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 8 26.7 26.7 26.7
Yes 22 73.3 73.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 73.3% of the respondents were concerned about their personal
information being explored and misused by others.

Table 19. Factors influencing adoption item 3

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 8 26.7 26.7 26.7
Yes 22 73.3 73.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 73.3% were concerned about their limited skills in computing.

50
 Table 20. Factors influencing adoption item 4
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 7 23.3 23.3 23.3
Yes 23 76.7 76.7 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 76.7% of the respondents were concerned about the inaccessibility
of Internet. Schools might not able to provide regular Internet access to students.

Table 21. Factors influencing adoption item 5

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 5 16.7 16.7 16.7
Yes 25 83.3 83.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 83.3% of the respondents were concerned about the high cost of
Internet connectivity. Students might not able to afford it.

Table 22. Factors influencing adoption item 6

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 11 36.7 36.7 36.7
Yes 19 63.3 63.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 63.3% of the respondents were concerned about having too many
ICT application tools. They might adopt different social networking sites.

Table 23. Factors influencing adoption item 7

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 12 40.0 40.0 40.0
Yes 18 60.0 60.0 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 60% of them were concerned about too busy and having no time.

51
 Table 24. Factors influencing adoption item 8
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 14 46.7 46.7 46.7
Yes 16 53.3 53.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 53.3% of the respondents were concerned about the lack of
personal benefits in using social media.

Table 25. Factors influencing adoption item 9

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid No 11 36.7 36.7 36.7
Yes 19 63.3 63.3 100.0
Total 30 100.0 100.0

Results indicated that 63.3% of the respondents were concerned about the lack of
educational benefits of WhatsApp.

4.7 Results of Hypothesis Testing

This section presents the findings to the hypotheses tested.

Ho1: There is a significant difference between the students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their competencies in computer use.

Table 26. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of their competencies in computer use
95% Confidence Interval for
Mean
Std. Std.
Attitudemean N Mean Deviation Error Lower Bound Upper Bound Minimum Maximum
Somehow Competent 1 3.4000 . . . . 3.40 3.40
Competent 16 3.3156 .30426 .07606 3.1535 3.4778 2.80 3.85
Very Competent 13 3.5577 .29286 .08123 3.3807 3.7347 2.90 4.05
Total 30 3.4233 .31287 .05712 3.3065 3.5402 2.80 4.05

Table 27. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their competencies in computer use
Attitudemean Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .421 2 .210 2.350 .115
Within Groups 2.418 27 .090
Total 2.839 29

52
To determine if there is any significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards
the use of WhatsApp mobile learning with regard to their competencies in computer use,
means and standard deviations for the students’ competencies in computer use, including
somehow competent, competent and very competent, are calculated as shown in Table
26. A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to examine if there is any
statistical significant difference between mean values. As shown in Table 27, results
revealed that there is no statistical significant differences (p = 0.115, p > 0.05) among
the students’ attitudes with regard to their competencies in computer use and the F value
is (2.35). The result of this hypothesis could refer to reason that almost all the students
were using their mobile devices to access Internet, send email, view video contents and
chatting on social media. Therefore, they were competent in using computer applications.
Students’ competencies in computer use demonstrated positive attitudes towards the
adoption of WhatsApp in education (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2015).

Ho2: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their gender.

Table 28. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their gender

Levene's
Test for
Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Sig. Interval of the
(2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
Attitudemean Equal variances
2.753 .108 1.619 28 .117 .18000 .11118 -.04774 .40774
assumed
Equal variances
1.619 22.790 .119 .18000 .11118 -.05010 .41010
not assumed

Table 29. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of their gender
Std. Error
Gender of respondents N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
Attitudemean Male 15 3.5133 .21996 .05679
Female 15 3.3333 .37017 .09558

An independent samples t-test was carried out to examine if there is any statistical
significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp mobile
learning with regard to their gender. As shown in Table 28, the results implied that the
mean values for both male and female students did not indicate any significant
differences among the students’ attitudes in terms of their gender. The computed value

53
of t is (1.619) and the significance level is (p = 0.108, p > 0.05). The results of this
hypothesis could be attributed to the fact that male students in higher education
institutions received education training just as the female students and both of them had
equal education background. The results also indicated that gender did not reflect
students’ positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning (Al-Emran, Elsherif &
Shaalan, 2015).

Ho3: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their age.

Table 30. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of their age
95% Confidence Interval for
Std. Std. Mean
Attitudemean N Mean Deviation Error Lower Bound Upper Bound Minimum Maximum
15-25 10 3.6200 .28402 .08981 3.4168 3.8232 3.30 4.05
26-35 10 3.3350 .33003 .10436 3.0989 3.5711 2.80 3.75
36-45 9 3.2944 .25304 .08435 3.0999 3.4889 2.90 3.80
above 46 1 3.5000 . . . . 3.50 3.50
Total 30 3.4233 .31287 .05712 3.3065 3.5402 2.80 4.05

Table 31. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their age

Attitudemean Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .620 3 .207 2.423 .089
Within Groups 2.218 26 .085
Total 2.839 29

To determine if there is any significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards
the use of WhatsApp mobile learning with regard to their age, means and standard
deviations for the students’ age groups, including (15 to 25, 26 to 35, 36 to 45 and
above 46), are calculated as shown in Table 30. A one way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) is performed to examine if there is any statistical significant difference
between mean values. As shown in Table 31, results revealed that there is no statistical
significant differences (p = 0.089, p > 0.05) among the students’ attitudes with regard to
their age and the F value is (2.423). The result of this hypothesis could refer to the fact
that the age groups were distributed into four groups (15 to 25, 26 to 35, 36 to 45 and
above 46) and the differences in age did not influence the integration of WhatsApp in
higher education classrooms. It concluded that age factor had no impact on students’
adoption of WhatsApp as it was a useful educational tool for students to enhance
learning (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2015).

54
Ho4: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their academic major (subject area).

Table 32. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of their major
95% Confidence Interval for
Mean
Std. Std. Lower Upper
Attitudemean N Mean Deviation Error Bound Bound Minimum Maximum
Science&Technology 6 3.1500 .26646 .10878 2.8704 3.4296 2.80 3.50
Account&Finance 11 3.3955 .31738 .09569 3.1822 3.6087 2.90 4.00
Education&Psychology 13 3.5731 .24632 .06832 3.4242 3.7219 3.15 4.05
Total 30 3.4233 .31287 .05712 3.3065 3.5402 2.80 4.05

Table 33. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their major

Attitudemean Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .748 2 .374 4.833 .016
Within Groups 2.090 27 .077
Total 2.839 29

To determine if there is any significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards
the use of WhatsApp mobile learning with regard to their academic major, means and
standard deviations for the students’ academic major, including Science & Technology,
Account & Finance and Education & Psychology, are calculated as shown in Table 32.
A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to examine if there is any
statistical significant difference between mean values. As shown in Table 33, results
revealed that there were statistical significant differences (p = 0.016, p < 0.05) among
the students’ attitudes with regard to their academic major and the F value is (4.833).
The result of this hypothesis could refer to reason that almost all the students were using
their mobile devices to interact with peers and instructors. Social media had gained its
popularity among these students. Social networks had made communication efficient
and increased self-esteem. Students enjoyed and satisfied with what social applications
brought to them. However, due to the technological resources availability in various
subjects and technology awareness performed by students from different academic
majors, a lack of positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning had shown by the
students from Science & Technology, Account & Finance and Education & Psychology
(Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2015).

Ho5: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their WhatsApp experience for educational purposes.

55
 Table 34. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of WhatsApp experience
95% Confidence Interval for
Mean
Std. Std. Lower Upper
Attitudemean N Mean Deviation Error Bound Bound Minimum Maximum
Less than 1 year 9 3.0944 .20683 .06894 2.9355 3.2534 2.80 3.40
1 to 2 years 10 3.5650 .21991 .06954 3.4077 3.7223 3.30 4.00
More than 2 years 11 3.5636 .25893 .07807 3.3897 3.7376 3.15 4.05
Total 30 3.4233 .31287 .05712 3.3065 3.5402 2.80 4.05

Table 35. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their WhatsApp experience
Attitudemean Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 1.391 2 .695 12.967 .000
Within Groups 1.448 27 .054
Total 2.839 29

To determine if there is any significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards
the use of WhatsApp mobile learning with regard to their WhatsApp experience for
educational purposes, means and standard deviations for the students’ WhatsApp
experience for educational purposes, including (less than 1 year, 1 to 2 years and more
than 2 years), are calculated as shown in Table 34. A one way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) is performed to examine if there is any statistical significant difference
between mean values. As shown in Table 35, results revealed that there were statistical
significant differences (p = 0.000, p < 0.05) among the students’ attitudes with regard to
their WhatsApp experience for educational purposes and the F value is (12.967). The
result of this hypothesis could refer to reason that students with different WhatsApp
experiences had different technological awareness. Not all of them were ready to the
implementation of WhatsApp mobile learning into learning classrooms. It seemed that
students with more than 2 years experiences on WhatsApp were more positive towards
m-learning compared to those who were not (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2015).

Ho6: There is a significant difference between students’ attitudes towards the use of
WhatsApp mobile learning and their year of study (level of study).

Table 34. Mean and standard deviation for students’ attitudes in terms of their year of study
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std. Std. Lower Upper
Attitudemean N Mean Deviation Error Bound Bound Minimum Maximum
1 5 3.6600 .34533 .15443 3.2312 4.0888 3.30 4.05
2 10 3.3950 .34193 .10813 3.1504 3.6396 2.90 3.85
3 8 3.3750 .30472 .10774 3.1202 3.6298 2.80 3.80
4 7 3.3500 .22913 .08660 3.1381 3.5619 3.10 3.80
Total 30 3.4233 .31287 .05712 3.3065 3.5402 2.80 4.05

56
 Table 35. Differences among students’ attitudes in terms of their year of study
Attitudemean Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .344 3 .115 1.197 .330
Within Groups 2.494 26 .096
Total 2.839 29

To determine if there is any significant difference among the students’ attitudes towards
the use of WhatsApp mobile learning with regard to their year of study, means and
standard deviations for the students’ year of study, including year 1, 2, 3 and 4, are
calculated as shown in Table 34. A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is
performed to examine if there is any statistical significant difference between mean
values. As shown in Table 35, results revealed that there is no statistical significant
differences (p = 0.330, p > 0.05) among the students’ attitudes with regard to their year
of study and the F value is (1.197). The result of this hypothesis could refer to reason
that almost all the students had potential capability to incorporate mobile technology
into their learning regardless of level of study. Therefore, no difference had been
reported (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2015).

4.8 Reliability Statistics on Attitude Variables

An instrument is said to have a high internal value when the reliability of Cronbach
Alpha is more than 0.8 and not less than 0.6 (Henseler et al., 2009; Nunnally &
Bernstein, 1994). The attitude variables used for this study were adapted from Bicen &
Uzunboylu (2013) in their past research “The Use of Social Networking Sites in
Education: A Case Study of Facebook” which yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.98.

4.9 Summary

This chapter involves the interpretation of analysed data. The results of the descriptive
statistical analysis of the data are presented with a discussion of the findings. Basically,
this chapter covers the introduction, background information, students’ characteristics,
level of adoption of ICT among students, attitudes towards adoption of WhatsApp,
experiences of using WhatsApp for educational purposes, factors slow down the
adoption of WhatsApp, hypothesis testing, reliability issues and a summary of chapter 4.

57
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

This study investigates the adoption of WhatsApp among students in Ipoh higher
education institutions. The findings of the results obtained from the data analysis in the
previous chapter have been used to draw conclusions and recommendations for further
research in order for any possible actions to be taken to improve the use of social media
among students. Therefore, there is an urgent need for researcher to structure the
summary of findings in order to come out a discussion on the understanding of how
WhatsApp supports students’ learning.

The main objectives of this study are reviewed. It first examines students’
competencies in ICT by assessing their current knowledge and skills in computing. The
results obtained may reveal that not all learners are competent in using social media
tools as a minority of them have limited skills in ICT. It then explores the perceived
attitudes students possessed towards the adoption of WhatsApp in higher education. The
research findings may indicate that most of the young adults show acceptable or positive
attitudes towards the integration of WhatsApp into academic learning.

The study next evaluates students’ experiences of WhatsApp mobile learning by

looking at their past habits and practical contact with WhatsApp group. The findings of
this research show that students reflected a positive learning experience with WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has been treated as an educational tool and learners gain various benefits
from using it. Students have rather experienced the positive impacts of using WhatsApp
compared to those negative effects. The research last investigates the factors influencing
the adoption of WhatsApp. The results of the study reveal that most of the schools do
not provide regular Internet access to students. Consequently, students are not able to
afford the high costs of Internet connectivity.

58
5.1 Summary of Findings

Overall, the research findings are summarized into four section headings. They
are divided as ‘Level of adoption of ICT among tertiary school students’, ‘Students’
attitudes towards the adoption of WhatsApp mobile learning’, ‘Educational benefits of
using WhatsApp’ and ‘Factors affecting students’ adoption of WhatsApp’. All these
finding are important and useful for further research. They provide a basic understanding
of the conducted research and guide the future researchers who plan to develop and
implement this research issue. Therefore, researcher has now been presenting with all
the information about the topic.

The first finding shows students’ competencies in ICT use. Research question
one tends to explore the knowledge level students possessed towards ICT and their
perceived skills in using computer applications. The results of the study indicate that
students are knowledgeable on ICT as they have excellent skills in using certain ICT
applications such as word processing, emailing, Internet and instant messenger. The
findings of the results are in line with research done by Gross (2014) where it reflects
that students with high competencies in ICT tend to use social media to make friends,
share links and promote online learning.

The second finding demonstrates students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile

learning. Research question two examines students’ perceived attitudes towards
adoption of WhatsApp. The results of the study indicate that students possess positive
attitudes towards WhatsApp learning. This result is in compliance with research carried
out by Capan (2012). This study has stated that students with more positive attitudes
towards ICT have more use on WhatsApp as they believe that WhatsApp is easy to use
and they do not have to put much effort in utilizing it. The Davis Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) corresponds well with this study.

The third finding concerns about students’ experiences of WhatsApp mobile

learning and the various educational benefits gained. Research question three
investigates different advantages students obtained from using WhatsApp educational
tool. The results of the study indicate that WhatsApp foster students’ learning, enhances

59
social skills, improves technology proficiency, promotes collaborative learning,
increases self -confidence and develops social presence. These findings are parallel to
studies done by Brennan (2001) in which the use of WhatsApp enhances learning
outcomes and Blanchard et al. (2007) claimed that WhatsApp learning expands students’
self-esteem in educational activities.

The last finding reveals the factors affecting students’ adoption of WhatsApp
into tertiary education learning. Research question four evaluates reasons slow down the
participation and adoption of WhatsApp among students. The results of the study
indicate that most of the students are too busy with school work and have limited
technical support on how to make full use of WhatsApp. Students are burdened with the
high costs of Internet connectivity since they do not have regular Internet access. This
finding is in line with study done by Buabeng-Andoh (2012) which reports that
availability and accessibility to technology resources are essential to facilitate the
adoption of WhatsApp mobile learning.

5.2 Conclusion of the Findings

This paper highlights students’ attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp mobile
learning in the higher education institutions. This study tends to explore students’
attitudes which in turn will support the adoption of WhatsApp into educational learning.
Many factors have been taken into consideration when examining those attitudes.
Students’ characteristics such as gender, age, subject area, WhatsApp experience, year
of study and competency in computer use are taken into concern.

Different statistical analyses are used to test whether there is any significant
difference among the students’ attitudes towards WhatsApp learning with regard to the
factors concerned. Findings indicated that there are statistical significant differences
among the students’ attitudes with regard to their subject areas and experiences of using
WhatsApp. Those significant differences could be considered by the administration of
academic institutions for future integration of WhatsApp mobile learning.

60
 Although no significant difference has been noticed in the other factors, the mean
scores were very promising for such factors. Results indicated that students’ gender has
positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning with non-significant differences. It
can be concluded that WhatsApp mobile learning can be adopted by both genders
without any additional special features. Results also indicated that students’ age has
positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile learning with non-significant differences. It
can be concluded that WhatsApp mobile learning can be adopted by students from
different age groups without any additional special features.

Results revealed that students’ year of study has positive attitudes towards
WhatsApp mobile learning with non-significant differences. It can be concluded that
WhatsApp mobile learning can be adopted by students from different levels of study
without any additional special features. Results also indicated that students’
competencies in computer use have positive attitudes towards WhatsApp mobile
learning with non-significant differences. It can be concluded that WhatsApp mobile
learning can be adopted by students with different levels of ICT competence without any
additional special features.

5.3 Implications of the Study

The findings of this study have implications on students, educators and policy
makers. Social networking sites are viewed as sources of information. Students can
share learning resources and interact with peers easily. This study motivates learners to
adopt advanced social media tools such as Internet, YouTube and Facebook. Most
important, WhatsApp mobile device has assisted students’ learning and expanded their
self-confidence. They become active participants in online group discussion and
satisfied with the enjoyment WhatsApp brought to them.

With the rise of technology education, educators are more concerned with their
competencies of ICT use. They must be able to use ICT applications effectively and well
equip themselves in order to be on par with students. This study has reflected teachers’
knowledge and skills in using certain computing applications such as using Excel to

61
record students’ marks, prepare Power Point slides for class presentations and browse
Internet for teaching resources. Teachers should possess positive attitudes towards ICT
learning and upgrade the relevant skills.

Policy makers should formulate appropriate national ICT policy that responsive
to the demand of knowledge-based society. They must be aware of the latest trends of
social media use in education in order to train teachers on new ICT skills and enhance
students’ learning outcomes. This study informs the local researchers and academic
experts about the use of WhatsApp in higher education institutions. It provides a
platform for sharing and exchanging ideas relating to ICT pedagogy. This study is
significant to Ipoh academic institutions.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings drawn from this study, researcher has made the following
recommendations to the respective policy makers, university authorities, educators,
parents and students.

Recommendations to Policy Makers

1. Ministry of Education (MOE) should consider allocating more funds towards the
connectivity of Internet in all tertiary education schools. Internet access is essential for
successful adoption of WhatsApp mobile learning.

2. The government should enact a new law that would guide the users of the social
network sites with the do’s and don’ts. The enactment of social media use act is
necessary to prevent students from engaging in cyber crimes.

Recommendations to University Authorities

1. University councils and senate should enforce the prohibition of the use of phones
during lectures. It is advisable that students should stop accessing social networking sites
during lectures as it would disturb others.

62
2. Higher education institutions should organize more seminars and conferences to
enlighten students on the negative impacts of using social networking sites since most of
the students get addicted with the Internet use and thus neglected their studies.

Recommendations to Educators

1. An assessment that addresses teachers’ inadequacies in ICT should be carried out to

ensure teachers’ effective use of computers .

2. Senior or elder teachers require more ICT training as they are incompetent in ICT
affairs.

Recommendations to Parents

1. Parents should possess positive attitudes towards the adoption of ICT by preparing
their children in ICT competence.

2. Parents should improve the limited ICT facilities and resources at home in order for
their children to adopt ICT learning.

Recommendations to Students

1. Students who are heavy users of Internet should moderate the use of social
networking sites to avoid addiction.

2. Students should realize the benefits and dangers associated with the use of social
media sites and create a balance between their online and offline lives.

5.5 Summary

This chapter presents a summary of research findings. Conclusions are made based on
the findings of the study. Overall, chapter five outlines an introduction for the topic
discussed. It then follows by the implications of the study which explains the
contribution of this study to the students, educators as well as policy makers. Finally,
recommendations to the local policy makers, university authorities, educators, parents
and students are made. The summary of Chapter five is listed at the end of the study.

63
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72
 EED521/05 6uide to Monoge Educotion Reseorch Project Poper

APPENDIX k SUBMISSION OF FINAL PROJECT REPORT FOR EXAMINATION FORM

SUBMISSION OF FINAL EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER FOR EXAMINATION FORM

EEDsz1-lOG Education Research Project Paper

To: Dean
School of Education, Languages & Communications, Wawasan Open University
10050 Penang

Darc: )q -{-'L'"ll
Section A (to be filled by the student)
Name LUE clUl Y|,t)
lD Number ottl +o F3
Programme Master of Education
Project Title ;;i;'zfoL,i'U)+rtyi *la"-t- lrauaiirg a,noa1 -r+di^k
in Hi/lr U),*colvn Xnl llfl;"s.
I submit the following documents to be examined as required in partial fulfilment of the
requirements of the M. Ed. programme:

Please tick (V) whichever applicoble

[f t softcopy* of the Project Paper saved as pdf
[f 1 softcopy* of the Originality Report from Turnitin
! Project Embargo Request Form (if applicable)
* Pleose delete whichever is not opplicoble.
Thank you.

14,\-2elL
(Date)

EEDi2UOG Section B (to be filled by the Project Supervisor)

Name of Project Supervisor : )2 26E S4-e

Project Supervisor lD Number :
Tu oa7'c>o
I certify that the student's final Project Report is of sufficient standards to be ready for.examination,
and I support the student's submission of the final Project Report.

.4- {- % tL
(Project SupErvisor's Signature) (Date)
School of Education, Languages & Communications

Poge 27 of 31
 EED521/06 Guide to Monage Educotion Reseorch Project Poper

APPENDIX K: DECLARATION OF FINAI EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER FORM

EED52U05 Education Research Project Paper

lnstruction: Pleose complete and submit in duplicate

Student l.D Number:

oE lt Poo y3

Full Name: LEE CH'N VLN

Academic Session: aan / z-l(

I hereby declare that the work in this Education Research Project Paper is my own except for
quotations and summaries which have been duly acknowledged.

I acknowledged that Wawasan Open University reserves the right as follows:

1. This Education Research Project Paper is the property of Wawasan Open University.
2. Wawasan Open Library has the right to publish my Education Research Project Paper as
online access (fulltext) and furnish upon request copies in whole or part for the purpose of
research or teaching and learning only.

ss',ffi;Etffi",t

8ztozo - ol - 6l$ be Ue see t€^tq

MyKad No / Passport No. Name of Project Supervisor

Date: L1 'Y-%lL Date: L1. f - 2-l(

Please submit completed form to the School of Educotion, Languoges & Communicotions, WOU.

Poge 30 ol 31
 EED527/16GuidetoMonogeEducotionReseorchProjectPaper

APPENDIX J: RE-SUBMISSION OF PROJECT REPORT FOR VERIFICATION FORM

RE.SUBMTSSION OF FINAT EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER FOR VERIFICATION FORM

EED521/05 Education Research Proiect Paper

To: Dean
School of Education, Languages & Communications
Wawasan Open UniversitY
10050 Penang

Date: '26'6-wl6

Section A (to be filled by studentl . -

Name of Student I lJ?E CIUN lL) r

Student lD Number : oSlltl,oot+?

Programme : Master of Education
Mailing Address: z , \or4twt" Trt?i cana 3 , T-n' A€rcham Trwi cana t ?tY @ lffi'PemP '
Telephone Number :
otV- 5ol3t1s'
E-mailAddress : ,sfrhJ in @ gaha. colv
Project Title A4yi".: 1iwq".ryy *t+a* NerEi"g an6J r+/&,tr i"
' eAica*i",t
zfoh fl:lhar
lnrf,#l$"nr
Name of Project Supervisor : Dr.LLJu- Jeryg
Project Supervisor lD Number : -f o 0olOo
I re-submit the following documents to for verifications that necessary errors have been corrected:

Please tick (V) whichever opplicoble

flt softcopy in pdf

I confirm that all amendments / corrections have been made. My Project Supervisor has examined
the Education Research Project Paper and his/her comments are included in Section B of this form.

Thank you.

* Please delete whichever is not opplicoble.

Poge 28 of 31
 EED521/05 Guide to Monage Education Research Project Poper

RE.SUBMISSION OF FINAL EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER FOR VERIFICATION FORM

Section B (to be filled by the Project Supervisor)

Name of Project Supervisor : \-P- 136 Sle g€Ng

Project Superuisor lD Number :
7u oa@

I have examined all the corrections/amendments made by .[I+ / .++rg / Miss

I P.F. rHZ I YI;trl in#is-/ her Education Research Project Paper re-submitted
for re-examination.

I confirm that I am satisfied with the corrections / amendments made by the student.

Section C (to be filled by the Dean, School of Education, [anguages & Communications )

I confirm the recommendation made by the student's Project Supervisor as stated in Section B
above.

(Dean's Signature) (Date)

Poge 29 of 37
Digital Receipt
T his receipt acknowledges that T urnitin received your paper. Below you will f ind the receipt
inf ormation regarding your submission.

T he f irst page of your submissions is displayed below.

Submission author: Lee Chin Yin

Assignment title: Final Project
Submission title: Resubmission of f inal project report
File name: research_f inal_report_051140043…
File size: 241.06K
Page count: 63
Word count: 18,324
Character count: 102,582
Submission date: 02-Jul-2016 07:52PM
Submission ID: 679356981

Co pyright 20 16 Turnitin. All rights reserved.

7/3/2016 Turnitin Originality Report

Turnitin Originality Report
Resubmission of final project report  by Lee Chin Yin
From Final Project (EED521/06 Educational Research Project)

Processed on 02­Jul­2016 19:58 MYT
ID: 679356981
Word Count: 18324

 
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31%
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Internet Sources:
8%
Publications:
9%
Student Papers:
28%

sources:

19% match (student papers from 10­Jan­2016)
1
Class: EED521/06 Educational Research Project
Assignment: 
Paper ID: 619378817

3% match (publications)
2
Al­Emran, Mostafa, Hatem M. Elsherif, and Khaled Shaalan. "Investigating attitudes towards
the use of mobile learning in higher education", Computers in Human Behavior, 2016.

2% match (student papers from 20­Jan­2015)
3
Submitted to British University In Dubai on 2015­01­20

1% match (student papers from 22­Apr­2013)
4
Submitted to University of Bedfordshire on 2013­04­22

1% match (student papers from 26­Oct­2015)
5
Submitted to Intercollege on 2015­10­26

1% match (student papers from 12­Mar­2013)
6
Submitted to Kingston University on 2013­03­12

1% match (Internet from 30­Jan­2015)
7
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/79/152

< 1% match (student papers from 17­Apr­2013)
8
於2013­04­17提交至Higher Education Commission Pakistan

< 1% match (student papers from 24­May­2016)
9
Submitted to Universiti Teknologi MARA on 2016­05­24

< 1% match (publications)
10
Buabeng­Andoh, Charles. "Factors influencing teachers' adoption and integration of
information and communication technology into teaching: A review of the literature",
International Journal of Education & Development using Information & Communication Technology,
2012.

< 1% match (student papers from 05­May­2014)
11
Submitted to The Robert Gordon University on 2014­05­05

< 1% match (publications)
12
Al­Emran, Mostafa and Shaalan, Khaled. "Attitudes Towards the Use of Mobile Learning: A
Case Study from the Gulf Region", International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies,
2015.

< 1% match (Internet from 12­Mar­2016)
13
http://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/download/5540/5343

< 1% match (student papers from 27­Mar­2013)
14
Submitted to University of Glasgow on 2013­03­27

file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/Turnitin_Originality_Report_679356981%20(1).html 1/39
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ON USE OF WHATSAPP AMONG STUDENTS
IN IPOH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

I am a researcher from Wawasan Open University. I am surveying the adoption of

WhatsApp instant messaging among Ipoh student population (tertiary). I will be
grateful if you could kindly fill up this questionnaire for the survey. You are rest
assured that all information will solely be used for academic purposes and will be
treated confidentially.

SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHICS

1. What is your gender?

Male Female

2. How old are you?

15-20 21-25 26-30 31-35
36-40 41-45 46-50 51 above

3. What is the name of your university? _________________________________

4. Which year of study are you in?

1 2 3 4

5. What is your subject area?

Science&Technology Account&Finance Education&Psychology
Other (_________________________________)

6. Which of the following devices do you use to connect to the Internet? (You may
tick more than one box)
Laptop Desktop computer Cell phone
Smart phone iPad Other (______________)

7. Where do you usually access the Internet from? (You may tick more than one)
Home Internet café Computer lab on campus
Workplace Hotspots on town Other (______________)

8. How often do you access the Internet?

Several times per day Once a day Several times per week
Once a week Once a month Several times per month

9. Do you have a social networking account or profile?

Yes No

10. Which of the following accounts do you have? (You may tick more than one)
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp YouTube Instagram
Other (_______________________________________________)
SECTION 2: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS WITH VARIOUS COMPUTER
APPLICATIONS

Research Question 1: What is the extent of competency among students in using

WhatsApp and other ICT applications based on their current knowledge level on ICT?

Item Very Competent Somehow Not

Competent Competent Competent
Word
Processing
MS Excel
Power Point
E-mailing
Internet
Browsing
Blog
Wiki
Instant
Messenger

2. Have you ever used various ICT applications for your learning?

Questions Yes No
Have you ever used a webpage, blog or wiki to present
learning materials?
Have you ever used email to send learning resources?
Have you ever used video or audio to learn English?
Have you ever uploaded any materials for learning?
Have you ever go through a computer-based exam?
Have you ever used write an essay electronically?
Have you ever used any social network sites to study?
Have you ever receive any kind of computer training?
Have you ever contact your lecturers and peers online?
Have you ever share ideas through online discussion
forums?
SECTION 3: PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS ICT

Research Question 2: What are the students’ perception and attitude towards
WhatsApp learning?

Item Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
I think WhatsApp is
important for educational
learning
I prefer using WhatsApp
because of its addable
materials
Having lessons on
WhatsApp helps me to
develop team work skills
WhatsApp enables me to
share information and
connect ideas with peers
WhatsApp increases my
interests and motivation
in lessons
Tagging my peers in
helpful posts helps me to
learn better
WhatsApp increases my
participation in learning
I feel WhatsApp learning
is a waste of time
Chatting on WhatsApp
helps me to maintain
social relationships
WhatsApp does not
increase my self-esteem
because I am not able to
express my thoughts
openly
WhatsApp increase my
communication with
friends more efficiently
I feel a sense of
belonging using
WhatsApp
 Item Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
WhatsApp is new to me
and I am not comfortable
using it
The use of WhatsApp
stresses me out
My grades would be
better if I could contact
tutors through WhatsApp
after school hour
The use of WhatsApp in
learning excites me
I realize that WhatsApp
has changed the way I
learn
WhatsApp is not
conducive to my learning
because it is not easy to
use
WhatsApp helps me to
understand concepts in
more effective ways
I find that WhatsApp is
not conducive to good
learning because it
creates technical
problems

SECTION 4: PRACTICES AND USAGE OF WHATSAPP

Research Question 3: To what level and extent are students integrate WhatsApp into
learning process?

1. Have you ever used WhatsApp before? Yes No

2. Do you have a WhatsApp account? Yes No

3. How long do you have the experience of using WhatsApp?

Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years More than 2 years

4. Specify the frequency of visit or number of times you log to your account.
Several times per day Once a day Several times per week
Once a week Once a month Several times per month
5. Specify the length of the session or time you spend logged on.
Less than 30 minutes 30 to 60 minutes
1 to 3 hours More than 3 hours

6. Why do you use WhatsApp? (You may tick more than one)
Free of charge Convenient and user friendly
Peer influence Communicate instantly with a group of people
Express feelings Other (________________________________)

7. What do you use WhatsApp for? (You may tick more than one)
Education purposes Social activities E-commerce
Job hunting Other (_____________________________)

8. Do you think Whatspp should be used for education?

Yes No

9. What kinds of education activities do you conduct with the use of WhatsApp?
Group discussion Group studies Sharing resources
Informing educational agenda Other (___________________________)

10. How many hours per week do you spend in WhatsApp education activities?
Less than 5 hours 5 to 10 hours 10 to 15 hours
15 to 20 hours More than 20 hours

11. What are the benefits of using WhatsApp in students’ learning?

Benefit Your Ranking

Improve technology proficiency
Enhance social skills
Foster learning
Improve creativity and innovativeness
Learn new things in new ways
Communicate in new ways with new people
Collaborative problem solving
Facilitate group projects
Learning can extend beyond classroom
Improved receptivity to new ideas
SECTION 5: FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF WHATSAPP

Research Question 4: What are the factors affecting students’ adoption of WhatsApp
for educational purposes?

1. What are your concerns about using WhatsApp in your learning?

Concern Yes No
I am concerned about my personal privacy
I am not sure who can access my personal information and
what it will be used for
I have limited skills in computing
I do not have regular Internet access
Cost of Internet connectivity is high
I already get too many emails and online communications
application tools
I am too busy and do not have time to use social media
I do not see any personal benefits
I do not see any educational benefits

Thank you for your cooperation.

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