Effects of security and privacy concerns on educational use of cloud services

• This study focuses on educational use of cloud services.
• This study advances a significantly improved research model.
• A structural equation modelling approach was employed to test the model.
• Results supported the proposed model, validating the predictive power of the TPB.
• Security and privacy concerns were significant determining factors.

Cloud computing, which offers software, platform, and infrastructure services, focuses on effective use of shared resources to achieve economies of scale and coherence. This paper aims to understand the effects of security and privacy concerns on educational use of cloud services. We have proposed a research model based on Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Following the TPB, we developed a research model, which posits that student attitudes predicted by security and privacy perceptions and behavioural intentions are predicted by attitudes towards using cloud services. A Structural Equation Model was used to assess the model based on the data collected by means of survey questionnaires from 200 pre-service teachers. Results supported the proposed model, validating the predictive power of the TPB. The results also indicate that security and privacy have a strongly significant influence on the students’ attitudes towards using cloud services in educational settings. Implications of these findings are discussed.