African Educational Research Journal - Vol. 14(1) - Full Length Research Paper - Teachers’ acceptance of the flipped classroom in higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A quantitative analysis of psychosocial determinants

Oct 15, 2026

The study investigates psychosocial determinants influencing university teachers’ acceptance of the flipped classroom in higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among teachers participating in national pedagogical development activities, yielding 876 valid responses. Acceptance was assessed through an overall intention score, while determinants covered attitude, perceived usefulness, apprehension, and perceived institutional support. Results show 52.3% reported favorable acceptance and relationships were weak. Regression indicates attitude, usefulness, apprehension, and support explain only 0.6% of variance (R²=0.006), suggesting feasibility and organizational conditions shape acceptance more than individual psychosocial perceptions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review and Conceptual Framework

Acceptance frameworks and psychosocial determinants

Teacher acceptance and flipped classroom implementation

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 14(1), pp. 102-108, February 2026 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper Teachers’ acceptance of the flipped classroom in higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A quantitative analysis of psychosocial determinants Makumbu Nsaka Martin National Pedagogical University of Kinshasa (UPN), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Accepted 4 February, 2026 | ABSTRACT
This study examines the psychosocial determinants of university teachers’ acceptance of the flipped classroom in higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) . A quantitative cross-sectional survey was administered to teachers participating in national pedagogical development activities. The final dataset included 876 valid responses. Acceptance of the flipped classroom was measured as an overall acceptance (intention) score, while psychosocial determinants included attitude, perceived usefulness, apprehension, and perceived institutional support. Descriptive results indicate that 52.3% of respondents reported a favorable level of acceptance. Bivariate associations between acceptance and the psychosocial determinants were weak (|r| ≤ .05) . In a multiple regression model including attitude, perceived usefulness, apprehension, and institutional support, the predictors explained a small proportion of the variance in acceptance (R² = .006; F(4, 871) = 1.31, p = .264) . Findings suggest that, in this context, teachers’acceptance may be shaped less by individual psychosocial perceptions than by structural and organizational conditions that affect the feasibility and sustainability of flipped classroom implementation. Implications are discussed for institutional support, professional development, and future research in African higher education.
Keywords: Flipped classroom, teacher acceptance, technology acceptance, psychosocial determinants, higher education, Democratic Republic of Congo. | | --- | | [E-mail: martin. makumbu@outlook.fr. Tel:](E-mail: martin. makumbu@outlook.fr. Tel:) +243-81-25-00769 . | INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the flipped classroom has emerged as a prominent approach for reorganizing teaching and learning by moving initial content exposure outside class time and prioritizing interactive, problem-centered learning during face-to-face sessions (Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Bishop and Verleger, 2013) . Evidence syntheses suggest that flipped learning can foster engagement and learning gains, but outcomes vary substantially across disciplines, instructional designs, and implementation conditions (Qi et al. , 2024) . Recent higher-education case studies also report improvements in achievement, motivation, and engagement, while underscoring that effects depend on implementation quality and contextual constraints (Eltahir and Alsalhi, 2025) . In higher education, adoption depends not only on pedagogical rationale but also on the readiness of teachers and institutions to sustain the required design work, digital infrastructures, and student support. In African higher education settings, the implementation of digitally supported pedagogies is frequently constrained by infrastructure gaps, uneven access to devices and connectivity, limited instructional design support, and heavy teaching loads. A recent review focused on African universities emphasized that professional development and enabling institutional conditions remain decisive for successful flipped classroom practices (Muhuro and Kang’ethe, 2025) . These contextual conditions may weaken the explanatory power of purely psychosocial models of acceptance (e.g. , attitude or perceived Makumbu 103 usefulness) if teachers’ intentions are overridden by feasibility constraints. Despite growing interest in flipped classroom implementation, empirical studies examining teachers’acceptance and its determinants in the DRC remain scarce. Understanding acceptance is crucial for designing teacher professional deve

FAQs

What does the study examine about flipped classroom adoption in the DRC?

It examines psychosocial determinants of university teachers’ acceptance of the flipped classroom, including attitude, perceived usefulness, apprehension, and perceived institutional support.

How was teachers’ acceptance measured and what was found?

Acceptance was measured using an overall acceptance (intention) score. About 52.3% reported a favorable level of acceptance.

What do the regression results suggest about what drives acceptance?

In the multiple regression model, predictors explained a very small portion of variance in acceptance (R² = 0.006), suggesting acceptance may depend more on structural and organizational feasibility than individual psychosocial perceptions.

Oct 15, 2026

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