Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China
Numerous studies have examined the role of social media as an open-learning (OL) tool in the field of education, but the empirical evidence necessary to validate such OL tools is scant, specifically in terms of student academic performance (AP). In today’s digital age, social media platforms are mos...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1272 |
| _version_ | 1797514430613815296 |
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| author | Muhammad Azeem Ashraf Muhammad Naeem Khan Sohail Raza Chohan Maqbool Khan Wajid Rafique Muhammad Fahad Farid Asad Ullah Khan |
| author_facet | Muhammad Azeem Ashraf Muhammad Naeem Khan Sohail Raza Chohan Maqbool Khan Wajid Rafique Muhammad Fahad Farid Asad Ullah Khan |
| author_sort | Muhammad Azeem Ashraf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Numerous studies have examined the role of social media as an open-learning (OL) tool in the field of education, but the empirical evidence necessary to validate such OL tools is scant, specifically in terms of student academic performance (AP). In today’s digital age, social media platforms are most popular among the student community, and they provide opportunities for OL where they can easily communicate, interact, and collaborate with each other. The authors of this study aimed to minimize the literature gap among student communities who adopt social media for OL, which has positive impacts on their AP in Chinese higher education. We adopted social constructivism theory (SCT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to formulate a conceptual framework. Primary data containing 233 questionnaires of international medical students in China were collected in January 2021 through the survey method. The gathered data were analyzed through structural equation modeling techniques with SmartPLS 3. The results revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and interactions with peers have positive and significant influence on OL. In addition, OL was found to have positive and significant influence on students’ AP and engagement. Lastly, engagement showed a positive impact on students’ AP. Thus, this study shows that social media serves as a dynamic tool to expedite the development of OL settings by encouraging collaboration, group discussion, and the exchange of ideas between students that reinforce their learning behavior and performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:31:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2294262ead4d4657967a88fbfcf3edaf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:31:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-2294262ead4d4657967a88fbfcf3edaf2023-11-22T18:24:23ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-09-01910127210.3390/healthcare9101272Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in ChinaMuhammad Azeem Ashraf0Muhammad Naeem Khan1Sohail Raza Chohan2Maqbool Khan3Wajid Rafique4Muhammad Fahad Farid5Asad Ullah Khan6Research Institute of Educational Science, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, ChinaSchool of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaSchool of Information Management, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaDepartment of IT and Computer Science, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur 22621, PakistanDepartment of Computer Science and Operational Research, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaSchool of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaSchool of Information Management, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaNumerous studies have examined the role of social media as an open-learning (OL) tool in the field of education, but the empirical evidence necessary to validate such OL tools is scant, specifically in terms of student academic performance (AP). In today’s digital age, social media platforms are most popular among the student community, and they provide opportunities for OL where they can easily communicate, interact, and collaborate with each other. The authors of this study aimed to minimize the literature gap among student communities who adopt social media for OL, which has positive impacts on their AP in Chinese higher education. We adopted social constructivism theory (SCT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to formulate a conceptual framework. Primary data containing 233 questionnaires of international medical students in China were collected in January 2021 through the survey method. The gathered data were analyzed through structural equation modeling techniques with SmartPLS 3. The results revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and interactions with peers have positive and significant influence on OL. In addition, OL was found to have positive and significant influence on students’ AP and engagement. Lastly, engagement showed a positive impact on students’ AP. Thus, this study shows that social media serves as a dynamic tool to expedite the development of OL settings by encouraging collaboration, group discussion, and the exchange of ideas between students that reinforce their learning behavior and performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1272open learningengagementcollaborationcommunicationelectronic-learning |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Azeem Ashraf Muhammad Naeem Khan Sohail Raza Chohan Maqbool Khan Wajid Rafique Muhammad Fahad Farid Asad Ullah Khan Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China Healthcare open learning engagement collaboration communication electronic-learning |
| title | Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China |
| title_full | Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China |
| title_fullStr | Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China |
| title_short | Social Media Improves Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Social Media Adoption in the Open Learning Environment among International Medical Students in China |
| title_sort | social media improves students academic performance exploring the role of social media adoption in the open learning environment among international medical students in china |
| topic | open learning engagement collaboration communication electronic-learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1272 |
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