Influence of Teacher Self Efficacy and Attitude in a Web-Based Professional

Development towards Technology-Teaching Integration

A Thesis
Presented to
The Thesis Committee, Graduate School
UM Tagum College
Tagum City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
ED 203 (Methods of Research)

Submitted by:

Submitted to:

REY M. REGIDOR, EdD

Professor
Rationale

Integrating ICT into teaching and learning is a complex process that can be

fraught with challenges. A challenge is defined as any condition that makes the

development or achievement of an objective difficult (WordNet, 1997, as cited in

Schoepp, 2005, p. 2). According to several research papers, lack of access to

resources, particularly home access, is another complex barrier that prevents

teachers from integrating new technology into teaching. According to Becta (2004),

ICT resources are not always inaccessible due to a lack of hardware, software, or

other ICT items within the school. It could be due to various causes, including poor

resource management, low-quality hardware, incompatible software, or a lack of

personal access for teachers.

As educational technology has developed, schools have been working hard to

acquire equipment and encourage teachers to integrate technology into their

professional development. Moreover, a new perception of teachers should focus on

their ability to make them effective in professional development because it is clear

that the influence of technology integration is not only limited to change and

technological innovation in terms of communication but to a change in the cultural

field in the way of relating to search information and online content (Gao et al. 2011).

Bandura et al. (1996) defined 'self-efficacy' as a psychological concept

comprised of beliefs about one's personal capability and expectations to accomplish

tasks. Internet self-efficacy has been defined as one's belief in one's ability to use

the Internet to accomplish certain goals (Chang et al., 2014). On the other hand,

attitudes towards computer use significantly influence whether teachers are willing to

use technology and that they should have positive attitudes towards Internet use to

help their students develop positive attitudes towards it (Teo, 2012).

 Amidst Covid-19, teachers' self-efficacy and attitude of technology integration

for professional development contribute to enhancing student learning and achieving

school effectiveness. As such, the teacher must undergo professional development

necessary for the overall improvement of the learning process. On the other side,

the researcher has not come across a study investigating the relationship between

the influence of teachers' self-efficacy and attitude in web-based professional

development towards technology-teaching integration, thus, establishing the

research gap of the study. Based on the scenarios mentioned above, the researcher

desired to conduct a study exploring the said variables, hence the urgency to

conduct the study.

Conceptual Framework

Presented in Figure 1 is the conceptual framework of the study. As the

framework shows, the first independent variable is teacher self-efficacy (Chuang,

Liang and Tsai's 2011) with the indicators, namely, general self-efficacy, interactive

self-efficacy, and applying self-efficacy. In this study, general self-efficacy refers to

the general capabilities of elementary school teachers to use Internet tools or to

complete simple web-based tasks. Secondly, interactive self-efficacy is the

perceived ability of primary school teachers to engage in interactions during learning

activities on the web. Also, in this study, applying self-efficacy refers to the

confidence level of primary school teachers in their ability to apply their web-based

learning in their teaching in the future.

 The second independent variable is the teacher's attitude in web-based

professional development, anchored on the AWPD (Attitude towards Web-Based

Professional Development) model of (Kao and Tsai, 2009) with the indicators of

perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, affection, and behaviour. Perceived

usefulness in this study refers to the teacher's perceptions of how they perceive the

impact of web-based professional development, whether positive or useful. In this

study, perceived ease of use is the teacher's perception of web-based professional

development whether it is easy to use. Additionally, affection is the teacher's

perceptions of the extent to which they express favourable feelings about web-based

professional development. Lastly, behaviour refers to the teacher's perceptions of

how they perceive the actual practice and express their willingness to use web-

based professional development.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Influence of Self-Efficacy

General self-efficacy
Interactive self-efficacy
Applying self-efficacy

Technology-Teaching
Integration
Student learning
Teaching preparation

Attitude in a Web-Based
Professional Development
Perceived usefulness
Perceived ease of use
Affection
Behavior
 Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Lastly, the study's dependent variable is technology-teaching integration,

supported by (Ajzen, 2002) who states that attitudes and self-efficacy influence

behavioural intentions. It has been proven that beliefs and attitudes are the key

determinants of students' learning and teaching preparation on technology usage. In

this study, student learning refers to teachers' view of their student's learning in

terms of technology integration that is both useful and positive. Lastly, teaching

preparation refers to the teachers' preparedness and personal views that teaching by

technology integration is easy to prepare effectively.

Review of Related Literature

This chapter discusses the theories, facts, and concepts of various authors of

this study to supply a strong frame of references about the variables treated under

the study.

Teacher self-efficacy is the first independent variable of the study. This

variable is further scrutinized into different indicators: general self-efficacy,

interactive self-efficacy, and applying self-efficacy (Chuang, Liang and Tsai's 2011).

The second independent variable is the teacher's attitude in web-based professional

development four indicators: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, affection,

and behaviour (Kao and Tsai, 2009). The dependent variable of the study is

technology-teaching integration. ICT applied in teaching is an innovative form of

teaching by which teachers can immediately and conveniently access internet

resources using web-based technology to advance their existing knowledge and

student learning. Thus, with almost unbounded opportunities to access information

and resources through the Internet, teachers are taking the web-based technology in

teaching to create active, inquiry-based learning environments, called for in

innovative teaching, which provides students with opportunities to construct their

knowledge and improve their learning performance (Kim et al., 2012).

Teachers Self-Efficacy

In the age of Internet technology, teachers' professional development has

changed from traditional face-to-face, single-location training to developmental

activities in advanced web-based environments. Because professional development

is undertaken via the Internet, teachers can choose courses according to the

availability of place and time (Chen, Chen, & Tsai, 2009; Kinzie, Whitaker, Neesen,

Kelley, Matera, & Pianta, 2006). Meanwhile, teachers with the same interests and

expertise can connect and form a network to share their professional development

experiences and teaching resources. Therefore, web-based professional

development courses enrich teachers' professional knowledge and experience and

help them cross school boundaries. Some studies have pointed out that teachers

with higher technology-related self-efficacy have increased inclinations to use

technology in their teaching (Paraskeva, Bouta, & Papagianni, 2008). These results

suggest that when teachers have higher confidence in using information technology,

their willingness to apply and integrate it into their teaching increases.

Although some studies discuss self-efficacy in educational environments,

most discussions of web-based learning are related to students in senior high

schools or universities. They indicate that in web-based learning environments,

learners' web-related self-efficacy not only influences their information usage but is

also a driving factor in the continuous pursuit of learning (Tsai, 2009). Similar to the

important role of students' Internet self-efficacy in their web-based learning, teachers'

web-based professional development self-efficacy may also play a significant role in

their intention to engage in and their participation in web-based professional

development. By the same token, teachers' web-based professional development

self-efficacy is an important issue for investigation.

However, there is still little research in this area. Therefore, it is appropriate to

develop and validate an instrument that seeks to examine teachers' self-efficacy of

web-based professional development: their confidence levels in their capabilities of

undertaking such professional development. Teacher's Attitude towards Web-Based

Professional Development Ajzen (2005) defined "attitude" as a predisposition to

respond either favourably or unfavourably to an object, a person, or an event.

Additionally, attitudes towards computer use significantly influence whether teachers

are willing to use technology and that they should have positive attitudes towards

Internet use to help their students develop positive attitudes towards it (Teo, 2012).

Furthermore, Gonzalez-Sanmamed et al. (2017) emphasized the strong

relationship between attitudes and ICT use in the education arena. It means that

teachers' attitudes towards Internet use responsible for training individuals to search

for information resources are quite important. Moreover, some previous studies have

examined the relationship between teaching practices and attitudes toward web-

based learning (Krause et al., 2017). The results of these studies revealed that

teachers' web-based learning is positively correlated with their teaching practices.

Thus, there is a growing interest in encouraging technology integration by

considering teachers' attitudes.

 Attitudes use internal beliefs that influence action and show characteristics

like honesty, generosity, and commitment (Schunk, 2012, p. 220). Though

preexisting attitudes influence technology acceptance, with a gradual increase in

technology diffusion, users' attitudes continuously shape for more acceptance and

use of ICT (Bögel, Oltra, Sala, Lores, Upham, Dütschke, & Wiemann, 2018). In his

study, Player-Koro (2012) investigated factors that influence teachers' use of ICT in

education. The study devised a model to explore teacher-related contributing factors

of ICT use. The results indicated that specific positive attitudes and self-efficacy of

teachers influenced ICT use.

However, teachers' generally positive attitudes failed to produce positive

results. Teachers' self-confidence enabled them to benefit from their professional

stance and facilitated students' learning. Similarly, Huang, Teo, and Zhou (2017)

studied English teachers in Chinese universities by exploring factors that influenced

teachers who taught with technology. The findings indicated English language

teachers' positive attitudes towards the use of technology in teaching. In addition,

social impacts, supportive conditions, and usefulness of technology were the main

factors influencing technology acceptance. The study suggested improvement in

university education through teacher professional development and teachers'

effective ways of integrating technology in teaching.

Technology-Teaching Integration

Since the pressure of educational reform is constantly increasing, as in-class

executors, teachers need to enhance their independence and professional

capabilities to perform their job with the greatest efficiency (Levy, 2008). The

introduction of web-based information technology has begun a trend in education of

gaining professional knowledge online. The Internet assists teachers greatly in their

teaching and plays an important role in their learning and professional development.

Therefore, they have been encouraged to participate in web-based

professional development to meet the demands of their future teaching (Vekiri &

Chronaki, 2008). With their feature of no time or space limitations, web-based

resources can provide teachers with a more flexible way of pursuing professional

development. While enhancing teachers' willingness to participate in online courses,

it can also motivate them to change their teaching from traditional ways gradually

(e.g., face-to-face lectures, single location) to a more flexible and adjustable

approach based on individual needs (Hartley, 2007). The Internet has become an

essential source of information due to the popularity and development of many

websites available worldwide (Furlonger and Budisa 2016). Recently, some

researchers have found that online educational resources have a strong relationship

with problem-solving competencies (Antonenko et al., 2012; Hsu et al., 2012), an

educational issue that has been identified as both important and challenging. In

traditional teaching practices, educators and printed materials were the only sources

of information for teachers (Vilar and Zabukovec 2017).

 However, in web-based learning environments, students are often taught to

comprehend and answer a series of questions related to their learning process by

searching for, selecting, and summarizing related information via the Internet (Claro

et al., 2018). In other studies (Barak 2017), it was also found that teachers can seek

supplementary online information for classes for different majors and self-manage

their learning process. Based on this evidence, technology usage has become a part

of teaching practice to create new opportunities while also enhancing teaching and

learning processes. Hence, emphasis should be placed on the increased use of

web-based learning technology in teaching activities and materials, increasing the

amount of teacher-student interaction and encouraging cooperative learning in

student-centred environments.

Correlation between Measures

In this section, the researcher presents the related literature discussing the

relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and technology-teaching integration and

the relationship between teachers' attitudes in web-based professional development

towards technology-teaching integration. The first part discusses teachers' self-

efficacy in connection to the dependent variable, followed by the relationship of the

second independent variable to the dependent variable.

Internet self-efficacy indicates web users' self-perceived confidence and

expectations of using the Internet. It has been proposed that learners with high

Internet self-efficacy may have a greater chance of success in a computer and

Internet-related tasks (Smarkola, 2008; Wu & Tsai, 2006). Among these relevant

studies, students' computer and Internet self-efficacy have been investigated, but

few studies have investigated teachers' self-efficacy in utilizing technology (Dussault,

Deaudelin, & Brodeur, 2004; Paraskeva, Bouta, & Papagianni, 2008).

 In addition, the relationship between attitudes toward and self-efficacy

regarding the computer or the Internet has been examined in some previous studies

(Peng, Tsai, & Wu, 2006; Wu & Tsai, 2006). It has been found that learners'

computer attitudes positively correlate with their computer self-efficacy (Smarkola,

2008). Also, learners with greater computer self-efficacy may have more positive

attitudes toward the Internet (Susskind, 2008). Besides, learners' attitudes toward

Internet or web-based learning are highly correlated with their Internet self-efficacy

(Peng et al., 2006; Wu & Tsai, 2006). While teachers may have more opportunities

to learn by web-based professional development, the relationships between

teachers' Internet self-efficacy and their attitudes toward web-based professional

development are examined in this study.

Of all the stakeholders in education, teachers are central when it comes to

technology integration in education. Teachers possess a decisive role in teaching

and learning with technology (Agyei and Voogt 2010; Christensen 2002); as such,

teachers' positive attitude towards technology and integration is essential

(Christensen 2002). Attitudes towards technology influence teachers' willingness to

accept technology and their efforts to integrate technology into their teaching

(Hernández-Ramos et al. 2014; Paraskeva, Bouta, & Papagianni 2008). Despite the

increased access to technology and training teachers on technology integration, a

negative attitude towards technology has been reported and could be the main

reason for teachers' low level of technology integration (Bozkurt and Johnston-Wilder

2011).
 Cognizant of the role of teachers' attitude in technology integration, many

studies have explored the attitude teachers have towards technology and its

integration in education. Some studies (Bamigboye et al. 2013; Chou 1997;

Christensen 2002) have investigated the development of such attitudes to improve

technology integration. Teachers need to explore and develop their attitudes towards

technology integration in education, there have been multiple attitude scales in use

(Agyei and Voogt 2010; Bamigboye et al. 2013; Christensen and Knezek 2009;

Hernández-Ramos et al. 2014; Chou 1997; Hong and Koh 2002; Lokken et al. 2003;

Kisanga and Ireson 2016; Pierce et al. 2007; Yavuz 2005). These scales seem to

differ across studies.

Downloaded Questionnaire for Teacher’s Self-Efficacy
Downloaded Questionnaire for Teacher's Attitude in a Web-Based Professional
Development
Downloaded Questionnaire for Technology-Teaching
Theory on the relationship between Self-Efficacy and Technology-Teaching
Integration
Sel-Efficacy Theory by Albert Bandura as cited by Chuang, Liang and Tsai's,
2011

Theory on the relationship between Teacher's Attitude in a Web-Based

Professional Development and Technology-Teaching Integration