Possibilities of reducing technostress to successfully digitalise higher education

Abstract

This study examines certain factors influencing technostress in order to support effective digitisation processes in higher education. Various difficulties encountered during the use of technology can cause anxiety and frustration, which can lead to psychological and physical stress. This phenomenon, which is known as technostress, is becoming increasingly important in educational contexts, since new technologies continue to gain ground in both teaching and research processes. Its study and the exploration of its modes of action are of paramount importance, given the negative impact it has on both the intention of using technology and on actual use (Joo et al., 2016; Maier et al., 2015; Suh et al., 2017). The piece of research underlying this study was conducted in the first quarter of 2022 among the faculty members (N=116) of Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary using an online questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using the SEM (structural equation modelling) model based on the PLS (partial least squares) procedure with the help of the SmartPLS 4 software (Ringle et al., 2022). Based on the results, we can conclude that the factors determining the development of technostress and its severity may be digital pedagogical competence, staff support, and ICT self-efficacy. Based on the modes of action, this paper explores the possibilities for effective reduction of teacher technostress in higher education through specific practical examples, identifying internal and external resources at the same time, which may play a key role as individual and environmental factors.