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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 8, Issue 1, Article
13 (June, 2007) Meral HAKVERDI, Berna GÜCÜM & Hünkar KORKMAZ Factors Influencing Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perception of Computer Self-efficacy |
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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 8, Issue 1, Article
13 (June, 2007) Meral HAKVERDI, Berna GÜCÜM & Hünkar KORKMAZ Factors Influencing Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perception of Computer Self-efficacy |
The participants in this study were 305 pre-service science teachers at a four-year public institution. Table 1 provides the distribution of pre-service science teachers by gender. Females represented 66.6% (n= 203) and males represented 32.8% (n=100) of the participants. Two respondents did not report their gender. Two hundred and ninety-eight of the respondents gave information about their ages. The age of the respondents ranged from 17 to 25 years. Three hundred and two of the respondents reported information about their grade level. Table 1 provides the distribution of pre-service science teachers by grade level.
Table 1. Participant Characteristics – Gender and Grade Level (n=305)
n
Percentage (%)
Male
100
32.8
Female
203
66.6
Grade level (n=302) 1 st grade level
95
31.5
2 nd grade level
74
24.5
3 rd grade level
65
21.5
4 th grade level
68
22.5
As an indication of relative familiarity with computers respondents were asked to answer two questions. Table 2 provides a summary of demographic characteristics that describe pre-service science teachers’ computer experience. When asked how many years they had been using computers for personal purposes, 89% of respondents reported more than 1 year of computer use. The percentage of pre-service science teachers using computers for more than 10 years was 1.7 %. Only 13.1 % of the pre-service science teachers reported more than 5 years of educational computer use.
Table 2. Participant Characteristics – Computer Experience (n=305)
n
Percentage (%)
0 to 1 years
32
10.4
1.1 to 5 years
150
49.3
5.1 to 10 years
112
36.7
10.1 to 12 years
5
1.7
missing
6
2
Educational use of computers (n=305) 0 to 1 years
65
21.3
1.1 to 5 years
196
59.2
5.1 to 10 years
40
13.1
missing
4
1.3
Pre-service science teachers’ responses varied when asked how much time they spent using computers in a typical week. Responses ranged from 0 to 30 hours, with a mean of 9.2 hours. Pre-service science teachers also responded to the question: In your use of computers, do you consider your self a non-user, novice, user, good user or expert? Table 3 provides a distribution of pre-service science teachers by computer use.
Table 3. Participant Characteristics – Computer Use (n=92)
n
Percentage (%)
Computers use (n=90) non-user
4
1.3
novice
72
23.6
user
159
52.1
good user
59
19.3
expert
10
3.3
The survey instrument asked for information about pre-service science teachers’ access to a computer in their home, in the department, in the computer lab at school and in the library center/media center and dormitory. Out of all the respondents 89 (97.8%) had access to computers in their home/dormitory, and only 5% of them did not have computers. Those who did not have a computer answered a question about where they did use computers for educational or personal purposes.
Pre-service science teachers indicated that they had learned how to use computers through different development activities (see Table 4). 81% of the teachers reported that they had learned how to use computers by themselves (“learned on my own”). University coursework and private vendors also provided information on how to use technology (42% and 23%, respectively). 63% indicated that friends had helped them to learn how to use technology.
Table 4. Percentage of Pre-service Teachers Reporting How They Learned Computer Use (n=92)
Professional Development Activities
Frequency
Percentage (%)
High school coursework (for credit)
66
22.6
University coursework (for credit)
128
42.0
Private vendors
71
23.3
Friends
192
63
Learned on my own
249
81.6
Copyright (C) 2007 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 8, Issue 1, Article 13 (June, 2007). All Rights Reserved.
