Acceptance of Google Classroom in Selected Colleges of Education: An Exploratory Study Using UTAUT Approach

This study examined the factors that influence pre-service teachers' use of Google Classroom within the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework, extending it with the construct of perceived reliability. Two research questions were posed: 1) What is the relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and behavioural intention to use Google Classroom? 2) What is the relationship between facilitating conditions, perceived reliability, behavioural intention and self-reported use behaviour of Google Classroom? Using a descriptive and confirmatory cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 337 pre-service teachers through a multi-stage sampling technique and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings revealed that performance expectancy and effort expectancy were positively and significantly associated with behavioural intention to use Google Classroom, suggesting that pre-service teachers' intentions to use the platform were associated with their perceptions of its performance benefits and ease of use. In contrast, social influence was not significantly associated with behavioural intention. Facilitating conditions had a positive and significant association with use behaviour, indicating a relationship between institutional support and resources and the use of Google Classroom. Additionally, the newly introduced construct, perceived reliability, was positively and significantly associated with use behaviour, suggesting a relationship between perceptions of the platform's reliability and its use. Based on these associations, the study recommends that Colleges of Education focus on enhancing pre-service teachers' perceptions of the performance benefits and ease of use of Google Classroom through targeted training sessions, workshops, and the sharing of examples demonstrating its effectiveness and user-friendliness.