Fear of Loss of Face Among Instructors on Adoption of eLearning in Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions

Abstract

This study was about the low uptake of eLearning in Tanzanian higher learning institutions. A lack of investment in equipment, poor internet services, and a lack of technical skills among instructors are mentioned as the major factors for the low uptake of eLearning in Tanzania and worldwide. To the contrary, the study found that 100% of instructors in Tanzania used PowerPoint presentations, which is one major aspect of eLearning, while only 2% of them used videos. Even after improving computer availability, internet connection, and training, 98% of instructors still did not adopt video content. It is concluded that, due to fear of loss of face among instructors, the pace of adoption of video content as part of eLearning is slow. From the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) perspective, even if perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) are favorable, unless fear of loss of face is reduced, acceptance will be slow. In addition to PU and PEU, fear of loss of face is recommended to be included as one of the constructs of the TAM. When striving to adopt eLearning, institutional administrators are advised to pay attention to psychological barriers in addition to PU and PEU. Received: 17 May 2025 | Revised: 17 September 2025 | Accepted: 7 November 2025 Conflicts of Interest The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study are all included in the article. Author Contribution Statement Leonard J. Mselle: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization.