In the 21st century, online learning has evolved as a worldwide platform to connect, collaborate and engage users in the learning process. Online learning today is integrated with social network connectivity, which builds an ecosystem for interaction between students, teachers and professors from every corner of the world providing them with free accessible online resources. However, in order to promote active engagement of the learners and delivery of meaningful learning in the online learning settings, it is also necessary to determine student’s perceptions towards online learning. The present thesis has three inter-related studies.
The first study aimed to develop a scale to measure student’s perceptions towards online learning. The resulted scale consists of four dimensions: instructor characteristics, social presence, instructional design, and trust. In the next study, the developed scale was used to examine the impact of five personality trait extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and intellect/imagination on the perception of students towards online learning. The results showed that personality traits, conscientiousness and intellect/imagination have a larger positive impact on student’s perceptions towards online learning, whereas neuroticism has significantly negative effects on participants of online courses. Finally, cross-country differences were investigated between India and Taiwan, on student’s perceptions towards online learning. Results showed that culture did influence student’s perceptions towards online learning. The implications of the present study are important for instructional designers, educators, and institutions that are planning to offer, or currently offering, online courses.

Abstract............................... ii
Dedication............................. vii
Acknowledgements....................... viii
Table of Contents...................... ix
List of Tables......................... xii
List of Figures........................ xiii
Chapter 1: Introduction................ 1
1.1. Background..................... 1
1.2. Theoretical framework.......... 3
1.3. Purpose and Nature of the Study 4
1.4. Thesis organizations........... 5
References............................. 7
Chapter 2: Development and Validation of the Perception of Students towards Online Learning (POSTOL).......13
2.1. Introduction............................13
2.2. Theoretical framework.................. 14
2.2.1. Online learning and its effectiveness 14
2.2.2. Measures of student’s perception towards online learning....................................... 15
2.2.2.1. Instructor characteristics..... 16
2.2.2.2. Social presence................ 16
2.2.2.3. Instructional design........... 17
2.2.2.4. Trust.......................... 18
2.3. Methodology............................ 19
2.3.1. Participants and data collection....... 19
2.3.2. Item generation........................ 21
2.3.3. Data analysis.......................... 21
2.3.4. Sampling adequacy for the factor analysis 22
2.4. Results.................................22
2.4.1. Exploratory factor analysis for POSTOL..22
2.4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis............24
2.4.3. Convergent and discriminant validity....24
2.5. Discussion and conclusion...............26
References......................................28
Chapter 3: Does Personality matter in an Online Learning Environment? An Exploratory study...............35
3.1. Introduction............................35
3.2. Theoretical background..................36
3.2.1. Personality and online learning.........37
3.2.2. The need for this study.................38
3.3. Methodology.............................41
3.3.1. Participants and procedure..............41
3.3.2. Measures................................42
3.3.2.1. Mini-IPIP.......................42
3.3.2.2. POSTOL..........................43
3.4. Results.................................44
3.4.1. Correlation analyses....................44
3.4.2. Regression analyses.....................45
3.5. Discussion and conclusions..............47
References......................................50
Chapter 4: Student’s Perceptions towards Online Learning: A Cross-Country Analysis..........................58
4.1. Introduction............................58
4.2. Theoretical background..................59
4.2.1. Issues and research questions...........62
4.3. Method..................................63
4.3.1. Sample and data collection..............63
4.3.1.1. Indian sample...................63
4.3.1.2. Taiwanese sample................63
4.3.2. Instrument..............................64
4.3.3. Data analysis...........................65
4.4. Results.................................65
4.5. Discussion and conclusions..............69
5. Limitations and future directions.......71
References......................................72
Chapter 5: Conclusions and future directions....79
Appendix A......................................81

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