Using the Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction to Elicit Factors Predicting Intention among Secondary Teachers to Use Chromebooks Pedagogically in their Classroom Practice.

Abstract

The study was carried out at a comprehensive school for secondary education in the middle of the Netherlands which teaches some 4,000 pupils and employs 354 teachers; hereafter referred to as research school. All pupils have been issued Chromebooks. Chromebooks are laptop-computers that use cloud-storage with access to a wide variety of (online) educational software. Chromebooks are considered ideal tools to stimulate collaborative-learning and differentiated-learning. The research school’s educational vision propagates these two socio-constructivist educational principles. In the actual lesson-practice of the research school it can be seen that pedagogical use of the Chromebooks has not yet been fully embraced by its teachers. These teachers play a pivotal role when trying to increase pedagogical use of ICT objects.
Teachers were asked to fill in a questionnaire based on the Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction (IMBP). Items from the questionnaire testing the proximal variables were constructed with the help of existing RAA-literature (Ajzen, 2006; Francis, Eccles, Johnston, Walker, Grimshaw, Foy, Kaner, Smith, & Bonetti, 2004). Items testing distal variables were taken from existing scales. The following proximal and distal variables were measured: behavioural intention, subjective norm, self-efficacy, pedagogical beliefs, workload, trust in management, emotional-connectedness beliefs, innovative culture, feelings of competence, burnout feelings, policy-alienation and positive lockdown-effects. Demographical and individual variables were: age, department, instructional level, subject and device (Win- or Chromebook). 238 complete questionnaires were returned. By using a median split, 129 teachers were categorised as non-intenders and 109 as intenders.
In the regression analyses it was confirmed that teacher attitudes, subjective norm and feelings of self-efficacy play a deciding role with respect to teachers reporting intention. Additionally, we found an increase in intention among teachers who had had positive experiences with the (pedagogical) use of the Chromebook during the lockdowns. The more teachers adhered to socio-constructivist teaching principles, the higher their intention. Belonging to a specific subject group affected intention as well. Teachers of the social-sciences subject group reported the highest intention. Language and beta-subjects teachers reported less intention.
Through mediation analysis we found that intention increased indirectly mostly through attitude. Having socio-constructivist teaching beliefs indirectly increased intention. Contrary to what was anticipated, emotional connectedness beliefs proved to indirectly advance intention as well. Having experienced success with ICT usage indirectly improved intention, making it the distal variable having the largest accumulative (i.e., direct and indirect) effect on intention.
The two distal variables, experiencing an innovative culture and having trust in management were significant indirect increasers of intention, mainly through attitude and to a lesser extent via social norm.
IMBP lent itself to the purpose for present study. The model allowed us to test the three hypotheses and explain which proximal and distal factors advanced intention. In order to advance intention, we advise to set up professional learning communities for same-subject groups in which experiences, best practices and knowledge are shared. Co-constructing new practices might result in a more positive stance towards socio-constructive teaching principles, which in turn will have a positive effect on seeing the need to pedagogically use ICT.






















Using the Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction to Elicit Factors Predicting Intention among

Date of Award	3 Nov 2021
Original language	English
Supervisor	Karel Kreijns (Supervisor)