Students’ Behavioral Intentions Toward Teachers’ Use of Augmented Reality in Higher Education: Insights from the UAE

This research examines a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2)-model derived method to identify variables influencing students’ behavioral intention towards the use of augmented reality by university teachers in the UAE. Although social influence was insignificant with implications that UAE students are utility and usability oriented rather than peer/teacher influence. Performance expectancy, effort expectation, facilitating conditions, flexibility, hedonic motivation, and self-efficacy significantly influenced Augmented Reality (AR) adoption by strongly predicting AR adoption based on the results from an analysis of data on 308 students using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings highlight the need for the development of user-friendly, entertaining AR technologies for building self-efficacy and institutional facilitation (e.g., training, infrastructure) support. policy recommendations to policy makers and educators are presented in the study for accelerating adoption and further extend UTAUT2 by demonstrating its applicability in UAE’s AR learning environment.