Promoting the intention of students to continue their participation in e-learning systems: The role of the communication environment

Abstract

Online forums are increasingly deployed as important e-learning tools for facilitating student learning in classrooms. However, building an online forum does not guarantee participation by students. The purpose of this paper is to advance our knowledge of facilitating student participation in this context by studying the role of communication environment. The model was tested using data collected from a survey administered in a university in Hong Kong. Results revealed that psychological safety communication climate influenced the intention of students to continue their participation both directly and indirectly through perceived responsiveness and self-efficacy. This study builds on social cognitive theory and extends the existing understanding of participation in e-learning by highlighting the roles of psychological safety communication climate and perceived responsiveness, two communication environment factors critical to student learning but not yet addressed seriously in the e-learning context. © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.