ERIC Number: EJ814082
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1436-4522
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Internet Self-Efficacy and Preferences toward Constructivist Internet-Based Learning Environments: A Study of Pre-School Teachers in Taiwan
Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung
Educational Technology & Society, v11 n1 p226-237 2008
This study was conducted to explore the relationship between Internet self-efficacy and preferences toward constructivist Internet-based learning environments. The sample included 365 college students in Taiwan who all majored in early childhood care and pre-school education. Some of them were preservice pre-school teachers (n=185), and the rest of them were inservice pre-school teachers who pursued a degree for childhood care (n=180). Through analyzing student questionnaire responses, the findings revealed that general Internet self-efficacy might foster the preferences of constructivist Internet-based learning environments. In other words, when widely implementing constructivist Internet-based learning environments, a prerequisite may be the condition that the learners should have adequate general Internet self-efficacy. By using structural equation model (SEM), this study further investigated the causal relations among the variables considered in this study. The SEM analysis showed that students with higher general Internet self-efficacy clearly showed more preferences toward Internet learning environments where they can use with ease, explore real-life problems, display multiple sources of information, conduct open-ended inquiry learning activities, and elaborate the nature of knowledge. However, students with higher communicative Internet self-efficacy tended to display relatively less preferences for inquiry learning on the Internet. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Constructivism (Learning), Self Efficacy, Foreign Countries, Internet, Preschool Teachers, Inservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teachers, Questionnaires, Teacher Attitudes, Correlation, Technology Integration, Educational Technology, Computer Uses in Education, Electronic Learning, Structural Equation Models, Learning Activities
International Forum of Educational Technology & Society. Athabasca University, School of Computing & Information Systems, 1 University Drive, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada. Tel: 780-675-6812; Fax: 780-675-6973; Web site: http://www.ifets.info
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A