A study of preschool teacher's self-efficacy and their attitudes towards the use of technology in classroom

Ng, Ennice Tze Yie (2024) A study of preschool teacher's self-efficacy and their attitudes towards the use of technology in classroom. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education, including digital inequality and lack of skills. In early childhood education, integrating technology has become a practical necessity, highlighting the need to understand what shapes teachers' attitudes toward using these tools. However, there is limited research demonstrating the relationship between teacher’s self�efficacy and their attitudes towards technology use, particularly in the context of Malaysia early childhood education. The Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the theoretical framework in this study for investigating the research questions and hypothesis. Furthermore, this study employed a quantitative correlational research design with Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) and the Scale of Attitudes Toward Using Technological Tools in Preschool Education being used as the research instruments to collect the data. 60 respondents had participated in the current study with the use of convenience sampling method. The research findings revealed a positive signification correlation between efficacy in student engagement (r= .389, p= .002), instructional strategy (r= .445, p= <.001) and classroom management (r= .424, p= <.001). These results indicate teachers with higher self-efficacy are more likely to adopt technology in the classroom, using it to enhance student engagement, employ diverse instructional strategies, and improve classroom management, ultimately creating more effective and interactive learning environments. There are few limitations to the current study which includes the high reliance on self-reported data, limited generalizability and the convenience sampling that is less representative. Hence, it is recommended to consider observational and interviews research design, collect larger samples and employ a random sampling method in future studies. Key Words: Teacher’s Self-Efficacy, Attitudes Towards Technology, Student Engagement, Instructional Strategy, Classroom Management

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