Teacher educators' beliefs and technology uses in relation to preservice teachers' beliefs and technology attitudes
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore how teacher educators' pedagogical beliefs are related to their uses of technology in instruction. Also, this study explored the relationship between the pedagogical beliefs of teacher educators and preservice teachers, as well as the relationship between teacher educators' uses of technology and preservice teachers' attitudes toward technology uses in classrooms. Participants in this study included new teacher education students and teacher educators including faculty members, graduate instructors, and lecturers in the College of Education at a large Midwestern university. Data were collected from online surveys. A pre-survey and a post-survey were administered to preservice teachers at the beginning and end of the semester, respectively, to measure their pedagogical beliefs and technology attitudes. At the end of the semester, teacher educators completed an online survey measuring their pedagogical beliefs and technology uses. Correlational and regression analyses were conducted to explore the hypothesized relationships. The results of this study showed no significant relationship between teacher educators' pedagogical beliefs and their technology uses. Teacher educators' learner-centered beliefs and non-learner-centered beliefs about learning and teaching explained a very small amount of variance in preservice teachers' learner-centered beliefs and non-learner-centered beliefs about learning and teaching remained inconclusive. This study suggested that preservice teachers' pre-existing beliefs were the strongest predictors of their beliefs at the end of one semester of study in the teacher education program. The development of preservice teachers' non-learner-centered beliefs was uneven in this study. At the end of the semester, preservice teachers' non-learner-centered beliefs about learning and teaching decreased, however, their non-learner-centered beliefs about learners increased. Although no significant relationship was found between teacher educators' technology uses and preservice teachers' technology attitudes, taking an introductory educational technology course was found to be helpful in improving preservice teachers' technology attitudes related to educational benefits.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Ertmer, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Educational software|Teacher education
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