Pre-service teachers’ readiness to integrate ICT in education: A Latent Profile Analysis

Author(s):

Jo Tondeur(presenting / submitting)Ronny Scherer Fazilat Siddiq Evrim Baran

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

16. ICT in Education and Training

Format:

Paper

Session Information

16 SES 02 A, Research on ICT and Teacher Training, Including Pre-service Teachers / Teacher Students

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-22

15:15-16:45

Room:

W4.23

Chair:

Anders D. Olofsson

Contribution

Preparing future teachers to integrate ICT in their educational practice is a challenge that teacher training institutions (TTI) are increasingly confronted with (Liu, 2016). To train pre-service teachers, TTIs need to help them bridge the gap between technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK). Mishra and Koehler (2009) argue that for ICT integration to occur in education, teachers must be competent in these three forms of knowledge, but more importantly, they must be able to integrating these three types of knowledge (Schmidt et al. 2009).

The need to better align pre-service teachers’ preparation in the integration of technology including pedagogical efforts and curriculum (TPACK) has been noted by many researchers (e.g., Sang et al., 2010). But preparing student teachers for TPACK is a complex process (Authors, 2015). Some pre-service teachers are intrinsically motivated to use ICT in educational practice, while others do not share this affinity. For this reason, many researchers have focused on critical individual characteristics associated with TPACK, such as pre-service teachers’ attitudes (e.g., Holland & Piper, 2016), ease of use (Teo, 2008), and self-efficacy (e.g., Authors 2016).

However, a mere focus on pre-service teacher characteristics could lead to “individual blame” rather than “system blame”. Therefore, research should also stress the role of pre-service training, especially with respect to the different strategies for the content and delivery methods to prepare pre-service teachers for technology use (e.g., Mouza et al., 2014). Still, the question remains how TTIs can get a comprehensive overview of effective strategies. In this respect, Authors (2012) reviewed 19 qualitative studies in order to develop an SQD-model (Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence) focusing on which content and delivery methods best prepare pre-service teachers to integrate technology into their future classrooms.

According to the findings of this review, six key themes at the micro level need to be in place. These involve providing pre-service teachers opportunities to: discuss and reflect upon successful uses of technology; learn about ICT integration by designing and/or re-designing curriculum materials; design technology-related curriculum materials in teams or other collaborative initiatives; scaffold authentic technology experiences; receive on-going feedback; and experience teacher educators as role models (for more detailed information about each theme, please see Authors, 2012).

In the current study, we aim at delineating profiles based on pre-service teachers’ ICT-related attitudes, their TPACK, and the support they perceive provided by their institution (SQD). This study aims to determine which pre-service teacher characteristics are connected to their perceived support from their TTIs to prepare them for educational ICT use. Specifically, the study examines whether pre-service teacher profiles exist on the basis of a typical set of (1) individual characteristics such as TPACK, their attitudes towards ICT (in education), their self-efficacy, ease of use, and (2) the support pre-service teachers perceive from their TTIs with respect to technology integration in education.

Method

A survey developed to explore pre-service teachers’ characteristics and the perceived support pre-service teachers receive in their TTI. The survey was conducted among N=688 pre-service teachers from 18 teacher training institutions in Belgium in their final year of education. About 73.8% of the respondents were females; this gender distribution is representative of the pre-service teachers in Flanders (Authors, 2016). The average age was 25.1 years (SD = 7.7 years). (1) TPACK The measurement of the TPACK technology-dimensions was based on the adapted Dutch version of Schmidt et al.’s (2009) TPACK self-report scale (Authors, 2013). Pre-service teachers were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with a number of statements that referred to the technology-dimensions. This new instrument (Authors, 2016) revealed a general TPACK (TPCK, TPK, and TCK) and a specific TK factor. The general TPACK factor was measured by 14 items that tapped TPCK, TPK, and TCK (Cronbach’s α=.94), whereas the TK scale was measured by 7 items (Cronbach’s α=.89). (2) Attitudes towards ICT (in education) The first instrument employed to measure pre-service teachers’ attitudes was the “General Attitudes toward ICT Scale” (Cronbach’s α=.82), a five-item scale developed by Evers et al. (2009). It includes items related to interest (e.g., “I want to know more about computers”), pleasure (e.g., “I like to talk about computers to others”), and usefulness (e.g., “The use of a computer is useful to me”). The Ease of Use Scale (Cronbach’s α=.89) contains three items (e.g., “I feel comfortable when I use computers”). The Attitudes toward ICT in Education Scale (Evers et al., 2009) measures students’ attitudes toward the effects of adopting computers in education including the same spectrum of dimensions: “interest”, “ease of use”, “pleasure”, and “usefulness”. The eight items on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy (Cronbach’s α=.89) measure the degree to which pre-service teachers feel competent to use ICT as a supportive tool to strengthen their instructional practice (Authors, 2016). (3) SQD-scale The SQD-scale used in this study was constructed around the six significant domains of the the micro-level of the SQD-model (Authors, 2016) (22 items, Cronbach’s α=.97). In order to identify profiles of pre-service teachers, we conducted latent profile analyses (LPA) to our cross-sectional data set. The LPA were based on robust maximum likelihood estimation, an estimation procedure that corrects for potential deviations from the normality of variables.

Expected Outcomes

On the basis of the LPA, the respondents were distributed among two profiles as follows: 241 were classified as Profile 1 members (35% of the 688 respondents) and 447 were grouped in Profile 2 (65%). The differences between the mean scores of the two profiles were statistically significant for all scale scores. Pre-service teachers in Profile 2 reflect higher scores on all the different scales compared to pre-service teachers in Profile 1. The latter profile is therefore labelled as ‘‘Low ICT Profile” (L-ICT). In contrast, Profile 2 is labelled as ‘‘High ICT Profile” (H-ICT). This finding is in line with previous research that suggests that general and domain specific attitudes toward the use of ICT in education are closely related (cf. Agyei, & Voogt, 2015). Another general finding is that (pre-service) teachers adopting more positive ICT attitudes were more likely to report positive attitudes toward ICT in education (see also Authors, 2016). Interestingly, pre-service teachers’ ICT self-efficacy, ease of use, and their TPACK go together within both profiles. In light of the two profiles, it is clear that some pre-service teachers are intrinsically motivated to use ICT in their educational practice, while others do not share this affinity (e.g., Teo, 2008). For this reason, many researchers placed the individual teacher at the centre of educational change processes (Stoll, 1999). The results of this study indicate a positive association between TPACK and SQD. Pre-service teachers in a profile with relatively positive attitudes, self-efficacy, and TPACK also report higher scores on the perceived support provided by their teacher training institution. As a consequence, understanding pre-service teachers’ TPACK profiles is a crucial factor in supporting pre-service teachers for ICT integration in education.

References

Evers, M., Sinnaeve, I., Clarebout, G., van Braak, J., & Elen, J. (2009). Monitoring ICT in het Vlaamse Onderwijs. OBPWO-Project 06.05. Holland, D. D., & Piper, R. T. (2016). A technology integration education (tie) model for millennial preservice teachers: exploring the canonical correlation relationships among attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral controls, motivation, and technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) competencies. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3) Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 9(1), 60-70. Liu, S.H. (2016). Teacher education programs, field-based practicums, and psychological factors of the implementation of technology by pre-service teachers. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 32(3), 65–79. Mouza, C., Karchmer-Klein, R., Nandakumar, R., Ozden, S. Y., & Hu, L. (2014). Investigating the impact of an integrated approach to the development of preservice teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Computers & Education, 71, 206– 221. Sang, G., Valcke, M., van Braak, J., & Tondeur, J. (2010). Student teachers’ thinking processes and ICT integration: Predictors of prospective teaching behaviors with educational technology. Computers & Education, 54(1), 103–112. Schmidt, D. A., Baran, E., Thompson, A. D., Mishra, P., Koehler, M. J., & Shin, T. S. (2009). Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) the development and validation of an assessment instrument for preservice teachers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 123–149. Teo, T. (2008). Pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards computer use: A Singapore survey. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24(4), 413–424.

Author Information

Jo Tondeur (presenting / submitting)

VUB

IDLO

Brussel

Ronny Scherer

CEMO, Norway

Fazilat Siddiq

NIFU, Norway

Evrim Baran

METU, Turkey

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