Influence of culture on teachers' attitudes towards technology
Shameem, Ali
Graduate Student
Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Hammond, Thomas C. ; Bodzin, Alec M. ; Wiseman, Alexander W. ; Fu, Qiong
text
dissertations
2016-11-01
2016
Lehigh University
eng
electronic documents
application/pdf
Many consider the adoption and use of technology in schools an integral part of modernization (Kozma & Vota, 2014; Pelgrum, 2001). Prior research indicated that teachers’ attitudes towards technology plays a vital role in the integration. An emergent body of research mainly from the developing countries indicated that cultural perceptions towards technology impacts teachers’ attitudes and thus their integration of technology. This study explores the influence of culture on teachers’ attitudes toward technology beyond the established factors. The research model is mainly based on Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) framework for attitudes and Rogers (1995) Diffusion of Innovations theory. Based on existing literature on teachers’ attitudes and cultural theories, this study incorporated cultural perceptions towards technology and teacher autonomy to explore the critical aspects of teachers’ culture: the national culture measured as a macro-level predictor or the teacher autonomy measured as the micro-level predictor. The study used survey methodology to collect data from teachers at 9 schools in three countries—Jordan, Maldives and the United States. Hierarchical/blockwise linear regressions and a factorial ANOVA was used to identify if cultural perceptions or autonomy predicted teacher attitudes towards technology over and above the established factors. Despite vast differences in culture, educational systems and schools, the teachers in this study indicated that cultural perceptions towards technology and autonomy are important factors influencing their attitudes towards technology. The findings also showed that there were significant differences in attitudes toward technology between the teachers in the nine schools. Implications for teacher professional development are provided, along with recommendations for further research.
Education, Higher
cultural perceptions developing countries teacher autonomy technology access technology attitudes technology attributes
https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/Record/10761836