An Examination of Elementary Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs and Their Perceptions and Use of Technology for Reading Instruction
Reading is a consistent predictor of academic success (National Reading Panel, 2006). One avenue to improve students' reading achievement is with technology (Cheung and Slavin, 2012). Despite the possible benefits for integrating technology in reading classrooms, teachers do not use available technology (Bauer and Kenton, 2005; Levin and Wadmany, 2008). This study examined how Catholic elementary teachers' perceptions, and their self-efficacy, relate to their use of technology for teaching reading. Further, the research identified the factors that foster or inhibit the integration of technology. An electronic survey was administered and 115 teachers from a Catholic diocese in a mid-Atlantic suburb responded anonymously. The survey employed an adapted measure (Holden and Rada, 2011) derived from the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989). The sample consisted of predominantly mature, female teachers with about half having 10 or more years of teaching experience. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment tests and a correlation matrix, multiple regression analysis, ANOVA, and an independent-samples t-test. The survey's 5 subscales were highly reliable with strong Cronbach's alphas: perceptions (.95), attitudes toward using technology (.96), self-efficacy beliefs (.96), use (.90), and barriers to and facilitators for integration (.89). Teachers report access to technology, but express needs for specialized training and for additional equipment. Use was at the Tier 1 level, where teachers use technology for preparing to teach, rather than for actively engaging students with technology. There was a moderate positive relationship between teachers' sense of self-efficacy and use, r = .392, p < .01. The strongest correlation, though still moderate, was between teachers' perceptions and use, r = .49, p < .01. Teachers viewed beliefs about teaching (M = 5.52, SD = 1.48) and beliefs about technology (M = 5.33, SD = 1.59) positively, making them facilitators. Time for planning was viewed negatively (M = 4.12, SD = 1.93), making it a barrier to integration. Perceived usefulness elucidates why teachers use technology in teaching reading. By examining users' characteristics this study addressed the gap noted by Holden and Rada (2011). The current research also highlighted the significance of teacher-level factors such as teachers' perceptions about technology for their integration of technology in reading instruction.
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