Dissertation is hosted by	Effect of technology integration education on the attitudes of teachers and their students Rhonda Christensen

Abstract

Christensen, Rhonda, Effect of technology integration education on the attitudes of teachers and their students. Doctor of Philosophy (Information Science), December, 1997, 150 pp., 36 tables, 15 illustrations, references, 86 titles.

This study analyzed the effect of technology integration education on teachers' and students' attitudes toward information technology. Two instruments measuring similar attributes were used to assess teachers' and students' attitudes. Differences in pre- and post-test scores were used to determine changes that occurred during the course of the study.

Approximately sixty teachers in an elementary school in Texas received needs-based instruction in the integration of computers in the classroom. Three hypotheses were explored: (1) Needs-based technology integration education fosters positive attitudes toward information technology among elementary school classroom teachers; (2) Teacher education in needs-based technology integration combined with significant classroom utilization fosters positive student attitudes toward information technology; and (3) Positive teacher attitudes toward information technology foster positive attitudes in their students.

Analysis of the data indicated that: a) teachers at the treatment and comparison sites who reported having received computer integration education tended to exhibit more positive attitudes toward information technology than their non-integration counterparts ; b) teachers at the treatment site changed to a greater extent in the direction of more positive attitudes than did their comparison group peers; and c) the integration education delivered at the treatment site had a significant impact on perceived computer importance (after controlling for frequency of use) while the impact of training at the comparison sight was negligible. Both analysis of variance and regression techniques confirmed the strong impact of the extent of teacher computer use on the attitudes of their students. Time-lag regression confirmed the existence of a probable causal path from increased teacher integration education to a more positive perception of computer importance for their students.

A series of panel analyses using time-lag regression confirmed that positive teacher perceptions of computer importance influence student perceptions of computer importance in a positive manner.

These findings, taken as a whole, led to the acceptance of hypothesis 1, the conditional acceptance of hypothesis 2, and the acceptance of hypothesis 3.

Christensen, R. (1998). Effect of technology integration education on the attitudes of teachers and their students. Doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas, Denton.