An assessment of pre-service teachers' technology acceptance in Turkey: A structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the pre-service teachers' self reported future behavioral intentions to computer use in Turkey. Four hundred eighty-seven pre-service teachers (n =487, females = 284, males = 203) at Rize University, North East of Turkey took part in the study as participants. Data was collected by a self-reported questionnaire administered to the participants and it based on their responses to six constructs. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), as a research framework, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed as an analytical technique for the proposed model in the study. This study contributes to the growing interest in using Information Science models to explain the intention to use technology in educational contexts. Overall, the results indicated that (1) perceived usefulness, attitudes to computer use, and computer self-efficacy had direct effects on pre-service teachers' intentions to use technology; (2) pre-service teachers' perceived ease of use, technological complexity, and facilitating conditions had effects on technology acceptance indirectly; and (3) perceived usefulness appeared to be the strongest determinant of behavioral intention. Also, six variables corresponded to approximately 39% of the variance in behavioral intention. These findings propose that TAM is an effective model to explain pre-service teachers' technology acceptance. © 2012 De La Salle University, Philippines.