AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE POTENTIAL ADOPTION OF AUGMENTED REALITY AS PEDAGOGICAL TOOLS IN THE TIME OF CRISIS IN SAUDI HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education institutions rely on Information and Communication Technology to enhance the educational environments. Their reliance on it has increased due to the current global issue of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, higher education has tried to adopt some educational technology tools to support students remotely. However, the success of adopting e-initiatives such as Augmented Reality (AR) as pedagogical tools, particularly in a crisis of pandemic situations, is limited by academic staff's awareness of it. This study adopts the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour as a theoretical model to guide the identification of key factors that influence intentions to use AR in teaching in higher education.This mixed-methods study aims to investigate the perceptions and experiences of academic staff in five public Saudi universities about the potential benefits of AR technology use as pedagogical tools, and the potential barriers of adopting AR in higher education and the potential factors that can motivate academic staff to adopt AR in teaching and learning practice. Moreover, the study also seeks to determine whether there are differences between academic staff’s perceptions and perspectives and their expertness with their universities, faculties, and their gender. Further, the relationship between academic staff perspective and their actual use and intention to use it in future is addressed. A survey was completed by 851 academic staff, and this was followed by interviews with 20 academic staff. Statistical analyses were used to assess the survey data, and thematic analysis was used to assess the interview data. The study results indicate that academic staff were aware of AR as a pedagogical tool, although 63% do not currently use it, the majority of them (91%) are planning to use it in future. Academic staff agree with most of the AR benefits in teaching and learning. However, most of them faced some barriers that limit the use of AR technologies in their teaching. The study also found out that the COVID 19 pandemic and resulting online teaching, and hedonic motivation and attitudes are the most important factors that can motivate academic staff to adopt AR in teaching and learning practice. Findings suggest significant differences in academic staff perceptions and staff awareness based on their universities, faculties, and their gender. Additionally, the potential benefits of using AR as a pedagogical differed by faculties of affiliation, while perceptions of the barriers to adopting AR technology differed by gender. The study concluded that there was a relationship between academic staff perspective and their actual use and intention to use it in future.The main contributions of this study are to offer further empirical support for the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour and provide recommendations based on the study findings to support universities in Saudi Arabia in implementing AR technology in their educational environment. It is unprecedented in the study the necessity of the use of AR technologies in the time of Covid-19. Therefore, the contribution is both theoretical and practical.