The purpose of this study was to determine faculty perceptions about factorsimpacting the adoption and diffusion of Web-Based Educational Technologies (WBETs)at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon. This study, based onRogersâ theory of adoption and diffusion, is a modified replication of a study by Li(2004), in the context of Ghana. Data were collected with a modified instrument createdby Li (2004), from 61 teaching faculty out of a target accessible population of 200. Theinstrument comprised of four sections: The first, was used to collect data about facultystage in the innovation development process. The second was used to collect datadescribing five attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, andobservability) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The third was used tocollect data about ten barriers (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, programcredibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear oftechnology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) impacting theadoption and diffusion of WBETs. The fourth section was used to collect data onpersonal characteristics of the faculty. Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between faculty personal characteristics, stage in theinnovation-decision process, and perceptions of attributes and barriers impacting theadoption and diffusion of WBETs.From the descriptive results, respondents perceived âÂÂrelative advantageâ andâÂÂobservabilityâ as the two most important attributes that impact the adoption and diffusionof WBETs. Infrastructure, financial concerns, and technical expertise were perceived asposing moderate to strong barriers to the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Onlycompatibility (attribute) and technical expertise (barrier) had statistically significantcorrelations with faculty stage in the innovation decision process. The attributes andbarriers altogether explained only 10.6% and 17.3% respectively of faculty stage in theinnovation-decision process. Of the eight personal characteristics examined, onlyâÂÂexperience with WBETsâ had a statistically significant correlation with faculty stage inthe innovation-decision process. Recommendations to administrators and policy makersinclude allocating investments and resources that promote attributes and eliminatebarriers, and conduct further research into factors that affect the adoption and diffusion ofWBETs.
