Academic Motivation and Use of Learning Management Systems by Undergraduates in the University of Ibadan

Abstract

This study investigated academic motivation and the use of learning management system (LMS) among undergraduates in the University of Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 132 respondents from the 16 faculties in the University of Ibadan. The questionnaire was data collection instrument. Frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse descriptive data while Pearson correlation was used to analyse inferential data. Findings revealed that there was a high level of academic motivation among undergraduates at the University of Ibadan (x = 3.0 > 2.50), the predominant types of LMS used by undergraduates in the University of Ibadan include: University of Ibadan LMS, Google Classroom, Moodle, MOOC Platforms (e.g. Coursera, Udemy, Udacity etc.) and Schoology. The main purpose of the use of LMS by students include accessing course materials (x = 2.95), submitting assignments (x = 2.84), participating in online discussions (x = 2.83) and for personalised learning (x = 2.80). However, the students were not well exposed to the use of LMS (x =1.96 < 2.50). The challenges to the use of LMS by students include slow performance of the LMS (2.83), insufficient resources and materials for learning on the LMS (x = 2.70) and difficulty in accessing LMS from multiple devices (x = 2.63), among others. A positive and significant linear relationship between academic motivation and the use of LMS by undergraduates at the University of Ibadan (r = .210; P< 0.05) was established. The study concluded that academic motivation significantly influences undergraduates’ engagement with LMS platforms. It was recommended that the university should design and implement training programmes and workshops for both students and instructors on how to effectively use the LMS.