Investigating YouTube as a learning tool in higher education: Perceptions of pre-service teachers

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of using YouTube as an educational tool on pre-service educators in the United Arab Emirates and further delve into various factors that might influence this impact. The methodology employed is an analytical descriptive framework, gathering data via a comprehensive 36-item questionnaire distributed to a diverse group of 486 male and female student participants. The insights gleaned from this research highlight the critical necessity of integrating YouTube into the educational process, with the cumulative mean score of responses to the scale items reaching 3.86, which translates to a proportion of 77.2%. In a compelling finding, the investigation unveiled no discernible statistical variances in the mean scores of students’ uses of YouTube in relation to their field of academic study or the quality of their Internet connectivity. However, the study identified meaningful discrepancies predicated on the respondents’ command of the English language or their aptitude for computer proficiency. From an overarching perspective, the research indicated that students from various academic fields exploit YouTube as an instructional resource, regardless of whether they specialize in the sciences or the arts. Consequently, the research advocates for the widespread adoption of YouTube as an instrumental learning tool in tertiary education settings and other academic environments.