The Role of Distance Learning in Promoting Digital Volunteering Culture among Graduate Students: A Perspective of the Innovation Diffusion Theory

Abstract

The study, entitled “The Role of Distance Training in Promoting the Culture of Digital Volunteering among Graduate Students from the Perspective of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory,” aimed to reveal the role of distance training in promoting the culture of digital volunteering among graduate students from the perspective of the “Diffusion of Innovations” theory. To achieve the study's objectives, the researcher used the descriptive and analytical approach by applying the electronic questionnaire to a random sample of 100 graduate students and applying the interviews to a deliberate sample of 9 graduate students. The results revealed high approval scores for higher education students on the reality of distance training and the quality of the content of the training programs. This reflects clarity of objectives and alignment of content to their professional, educational, and social needs, and the results also showed high approval scores by students of higher studies towards digital volunteering; there is no statistically significant difference at the significance level (α ≥ 0.05) between the average scores of male and female graduate students’ viewpoints towards distance training and digital volunteering according to the gender variable, opening the door to reflection on how they interact with the technology and volunteer opportunities available online. The results showed that the basic premises that led the world to switch from traditional to distance training were to move beyond temporal and spatial constraints to enable the training of the largest segment of society and that the opportunities offered by digital volunteering in diverse areas were among the most critical aspects that contributed to the emergence of this concept. The requirements associated with distance training and digital volunteering include financial requirements, knowledge, skills, and human skills. And technical. The study recommended that distance training programs be designed to promote a culture of digital volunteering and include educational materials on digital skills, digital volunteering, and civil society activation.