Examining technological performance-related variables for effective usage of ChatGPT in academic learning of tertiary learners

Abstract

Recently, ChatGPT is widely leveraged as information searching and drilling natural language processing tool to facilitate academic learning. However, a comprehensive framework is indeed lacking for its effective deployment in educational institutions. Thus, this research aims to analyse technological performance-related variables while using ChatGPT, namely technological self-efficacy, acceptance level and job expectancy and their inter-relationships to support effective usage of ChatGPT among tertiary learners for their academic learning. Quantitative research via questionnaire survey was conducted. All question items in the questionnaire were adapted from past related studies. The respondents were recruited using multi-staged cluster sampling technique at main campus of a comprehensive university in Malaysia. Data collected from 230 tertiary learners were analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The research finding shows that tertiary learners’ job expectancy on the outcomes of using ChatCPT and their self-efficacy to use ChatGPT significantly affect its effective usage in their academic learning. Besides, both tertiary learners’ self-efficacy and job expectancy when using ChatGPT are significantly affected by their perceived usefulness and importance of ChatGPT. In addition, tertiary learners’ self-efficacy in ChatGPT is also significantly influenced by their behavioural intention to use it. Furthermore, the relationship between tertiary learners’ perceived ease of use and their behavioural intention to use ChatGPT is partially mediated by their perceived usefulness and importance of ChatGPT. On top of it, the tertiary learners’ behavioural intention to use ChatGPT partially mediates the relationship between their perceived usefulness and importance and self-efficacy to use it in their academic learning. These research results provide an insight to related stakeholders, including tertiary learners and higher education decision makers, on their initiatives to facilitate and manage the usage of ChatGPT as a learning tool in tertiary educational institutions.