Part-Time Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perception and Attitude to ICT Supports for Distance Education in Nursing in Nigeria

The increase in demand for university education remains unmet especially in developing countries; this has made adoption of distance education imperative in our educational system. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been identified as a tool for improving education quality especially in developing countries. The study examined attitudes and perceptions of nursing students toward using Information and Communications Technology supports in distance education. A researchers‐designed and validated questionnaire with alpha coefficient of .82 was administered to 396 students of the Department of Nursing Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile‐Ife, Nigeria out of which 305 (70%) were returned. Findings of the study revealed that the majority of the nurses (83.3%) had never attended any online computer based training program, a majority (63.9%) had no formal computer training and do not possess personal computers, while 74.4% reported positive perception and attitudes toward using ICT supports in distance education. Lack of constant internet access was rated by the respondents (29.8%) as a major challenge to e‐learning support. Gender and years of working experience had no significant influence on respondents’ attitudes and perceptions toward ICT supports.