Empirical investigation of e-learning opportunities and faculty engagement in Nigerian universities: moderating role of demographic characteristics

Abstract

E-learning opportunities are increasingly gaining the attention of various institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic that is making it difficult for institutions to open for physical operations. The current literature reveals that Nigerian universities’ e-learning opportunities and faculty engagement have not been sufficiently researched. Thus, this study explores the effect of e-learning opportunities on faculty engagement in Nigerian universities and the moderating role of demographic characteristics of faculty members. Using multiple sampling techniques, five hundred (500) faculty members were surveyed across various colleges of eight (8) private universities in Nigeria. Four hundred and thirty-one (431) copies of the questionnaire representing an 86.2% response rate, were analysed with Smart PLS 3.0. The results show that demographic characteristics of faculty moderates the relationships between e-learning opportunities and faculty engagement within the context of private universities in Nigeria. The study presumes that faculty members of various universities in Nigeria should leverage e-learning opportunities to be more engaged in teaching quality, research outputs, community impact and administrative roles assigned to faculty members. This study contributes scientifically to the strategic human resource management practices and Human resource information system (HRIS) within the educational sector.

Keywords

• Academic
• administrative roles
• digital databases
• e-learning
• faculty engagement
• teaching and research engagements