Exploring Head and Deputy Headteachers’ Attitude Towards Using Computers in Education

Exploring Head and Deputy Headteachers’ Attitude Towards Using Computers in Education

Darvesh Karim
DOI: 10.4018/jicte.2012040102
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Abstract

Attitude plays a very significant role in acceptance of any idea or innovation. Research has established the significance of computers and the attitude of headteachers which can either be a hindering or a facilitating factor for computer integration in education. To explore this phenomenon in a Pakistani context, this study was conceptualised, while the subsidiary aim was also to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics of the participants and their attitude. A survey questionnaire was adopted to gather data with a sample of 185 headteachers to assess the four perceived factors’ impact; educational, social, training needs and self-confidence. The results show that the participants’ perceived attitude towards computers in education is positive while their perceived social impact of computers and their self-confidence found to be lower than the educational and training needs. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the headteachers’ attitude and the use of computers and prior training. In sub-scales model, prior training contributes to the training needs’ model while use of computer, contributed to the self-confidence model.
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Research Questions

The research questions are;

  • What are the attitudes of the headteachers and deputy headteachers of government schools from Sindh and Baluchistan toward the use of computers in education?

  • What are the demographic characteristics which contribute to the headteachers’ attitude towards computers?

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Significance Of The Study

It is expected that the study is significant in the following ways:

  • 1.

    This was the first study of its kind to be conducted in Pakistan. The study’s findings will be significant for the policy makers and curriculum planners to plan appropriate professional development programmes for the headteachers in future.

  • 2.

    The findings of the study also contribute to the research literature on the attitudes of schools’ heads in Pakistan.

  • 3.

    The tool which has been used in this study was part of a larger study conducted in several countries. By using the tool in this research, I have tested the reliability and validity of the tool for Pakistan.

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Literature Review

The term ‘attitude’ has been defined in a number of ways. According Abell and Lederman (2007) defines attitude as, “a general and enduring positive or negative feeling about some person, object or issue” (p. 78). In other words, attitude is how we think and whether we lean toward the positive or negative in our appraisal of something in particular. A positive attitude implies a way of thinking that is predominantly positive and optimistic. The opposite inclination, a negative attitude, is predominantly pessimistic.

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