The Journal of Medical Education and Development

Introduction : E-learning is used in the worldwide in higher education to improve the quality of the learning experience by students; at the same time using this approach requires behavioral changes in the faculty members. One of the steps in the implementation and monitoring of e-learning, is audience analysis using techniques such as knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP). This study investigates the knowledge, attitude and faculty members’ performance of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) on e-learning.

Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-15 through a research-made questionnaire. Face validity was determined by expert opinion, Cronbach’s alpha was measured to assess the reliability and its construct validity was investigated through exploratory factor analysis. . The questionnaire was e-mailed to all TUMS faculty members . 218 faculty members responded to the questionnaire.

Results: The reliability score of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach alphs, and it was 0.79. Exploratory factor analysis of the attitude part of the questionnaire produced a single factor that explained 53% of the variance. The results showed the positive attitude of faculty members regarding e-learning, although their knowledge and practice scores was less than half of the total score. There wass not found any meaningful differences between knowledge, attitude and performance of the participants based on sex, rank and work experience. ANOVA test showed that the difference of scores among schools was statistically significant (  = 0.000;  = 0.003 and  = 0.000, respectively).

Conclusion: The findings of this study showed the state of knowledge, attitude and faculty members’ performance of TUMS on e-learning. Over the past years, TUMS has established suitable e-learning infrastructure such as educational websites and virtual programs as well as training workshop for faculty members. The results of this study can help the revision and improvement of the faculties’ educational programs.