Barriers to E-Learning Adoption Among Academic Staff of Colleges of Education in Niger State, North Central Nigeria

This study analyses the barriers to e-learning adoption among academic staff of colleges of education in Niger State, North Central Nigeria. Colleges of education are critical nodes in the national teacher preparation pipeline, and their adoption of e-learning has downstream implications for how their graduates teach in primary and junior secondary schools. A cross-sectional explanatory survey design was adopted with a sample of 150 lecturers from Niger State College of Education, Minna, and the College of Education, Okene. A validated E-Learning Adoption Barriers Scale covering institutional, technological, pedagogical, and personal barrier dimensions was administered. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of barriers. Multiple regression analysis examined the relative predictive weight of each barrier category on adoption non-intent. Institutional barriers, specifically the absence of official e-learning policies and incentive structures, emerged as the strongest predictors of non-adoption. Pedagogical barriers related to uncertainty about how to redesign courses for online delivery ranked second. Personal barriers including fear of technology failure were the weakest predictors. The study recommends that college management develop explicit e-learning adoption policies, provide structured instructional design support, and establish visible incentive structures to motivate early adopters. Keywords: e-learning adoption barriers, colleges of education, Niger State, academic staff, factor analysis