The Use of Big Data in Education: Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions at the School of Letters and Human Sciences, Dhar El Mehraz, Fes (Morocco)

Abstract

This paper describes students’ attitudes and perceptions of Big Data as a form of educational technology. These insights provide contexts and implications of Big data in improving student’s learning environment and experience. The overarching data-fused systems allow for achieving better standards and enhancing the educational landscape. This study is descriptive, and the Validity of Big Data Applied to Education (VABIDAE) questionnaire has been employed to collect quantitative data. It is a three-level scale that assesses students’ attitudes and perceptions of Big data as an ed-tech. Thus providing a comprehensive deduction of students’ tendencies, concerns, and appreciation of the advantages and drawbacks of this technology. The hypothesis suggests that students’ perception of big data as an educational technology is reflected on their attitude. To avoid ambiguity, perception and attitude represent two distinct variables. While perception represents students’ views of positive and negative aspects of utility of Big Data in education, attitude represents their subjective point of view, such as feelings and beliefs. To test the hypothesis, This study answers three research questions. The first research question describes students’ overall perception of Big data as an educational technology, while the second describes their attitude toward its implementation in their learning journey. The third and last research question investigates the correlation between the two variables. The findings of this study allow students, educators, researchers, policymakers, and shareholders in the field of education to better understand the advantages and challenges related to implementing Big data systems. In conclusion, considering how students view and approach the incorporation of this technology into education significantly contributes to improving learning outcomes and overall educational experiences.