Massive open online courses in Azerbaijan; an evaluation in the context of higher education

This study, which covers the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Azerbaijan, how much students in higher education benefit from these courses, how they can be integrated into higher education, and teachers' opinions, was conducted by collecting quantitative and qualitative data. 216 undergraduate and graduate students studying in higher education in Azerbaijan in the 2024-2025 academic year participated in the study. Massive Open Online Courses Engagement Scale Google Forms was used to collect data from students. In addition, five faculty members were interviewed via the ZOOM platform to collect qualitative data. Descriptive and parametric statistics were performed on the data obtained from the students. The findings revealed that gender did not have a significant effect on participation in online courses. In addition, the analyses revealed that the level of education, the level of education of the mother and father, and the average score were not effective in participation in online courses. In the study, the descriptive statistics of the total scale score and sub-dimensions according to the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were presented in tables. As a result of the ANOVA test, it was determined that the affective commitment, which is one of the sub-dimensions of the scale, created a significant difference on the average score. This information was interpreted and post-hoc tests were given in the APPENDIX section. According to the information obtained from the faculty members, it was seen that MOOCs are still in the development stage in higher education institutions in Azerbaijan and have not been fully integrated into higher education. However, valuable information such as the positive impact of MOOCs on students' success, the positive view of these platforms by faculty members and their ability to always use them as additional resources, etc. were obtained within the scope of the research. Suggestions were made in line with the findings and information in the literature for MOOCs to be used more widely in Azerbaijan.