Comparing the Impacts of E-learning and Conventional Education on Students’ Academic Motivation and Performance: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background: Today, e-learning has become an integral part of educational practice around the world and plays a relatively significant role in student learning. E-learning is an educational approach in which educators and learners make use of electronic tools and technologies to communicate with each other in spite of distance and lack of close communication. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of e-learning and conventional methods on the academic motivation and performance of fifthgrade elementary school students in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in 2019-2020 academic year. A convenience sampling method was applied and the research sample consisted of 268 students (134 in e-learning group; 134 in conventional education group). Data collection tools included the EPT questionnaire (Based on Pham and Taylor) and the academic motivation questionnaire (Vallerand et al.). Independent t-test was used for data analysis. Results: the results showed that the mean of the academic motivation among the e-learning students is higher than the conventional learning students (P<0.001). Furthermore, in terms of academic performance, the mean score of the motivation component in the e-learning group was higher than the conventional education group (P=0.03). There was no significant difference between the two groups in other components of the academic performance. Conclusion: The results showed that e-learning had a greater impact on student motivation. More research with larger samples is required to better understand the possible advantages of this method.