Assessment of student satisfaction levels in using an e-resource tool developed for a selected girls school in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract Strategies to overcome limited exposure to e-resources in developing countries are essential in order to meet UNESCO goals for global information literacy. In Saudi Arabia, formal use of e-resources supporting the curriculum in Saudi Arabia is quite limited due to technical and cultural barriers and a lack of qualified librarians. Educators in Saudi Arabia have called for a closed, customized Web-based system to overcome these barriers and support the e-learning environment. This study aimed to create and field-test a Web-based tool in Arabic allowing teachers and librarians to work together to select and link e-resources with the curriculum to provide students with effective access to e-resources in a culturally accepted manner. It also aimed to assess the student experience of using the tool to determine the nature and extent of student satisfaction as well as the relationship between students satisfaction, level of use of the e-tool, overall evaluation of the tool, and teacher evaluation of student work produced using the tool. The study was carried out at Al-Bayan Model School for Girls, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with 116 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in 5 e-classes during the 2007–2008 academic year. The tool consisted of 1550 e-resources as a result of the cooperative work between teachers and librarians. The E-Resource Tool (ERT) was developed using PHP and MySQL database system. Mixed method was used to collect data for the assessment of the student experience included direct system monitoring, questionnaires, observation, and interviews. A factor analysis for student satisfaction extracted six components (Usefulness, Relevance, Knowledgeability, Independence, Availability, and Supportiveness) and explained 69% of total variance with reliability for each component above 0.70. An independent general factor for Student Satisfaction emerged from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was also used to assess relationships among student atisfaction, overall evaluation, and portfolio performance. The results indicated a good model fit. Grade level was an important factor, with 7th graders showing significantly higher Satisfaction and Overall Evaluation. Overall, the findings indicate the ERT tool can facilitate cooperation among teachers and librarians to provide effective e-resource exposure for students. The study suggests the potential to use the ERT in other developing countries where differences in languages and cultural norms are a challenge to develop information skills.