Investigating ICT Knowledge, Use, and Attitudes Among Turkish Teachers

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of a study investigating the ICT knowledge, usage, and attitudes of primary school teachers in Turkey. The research aimed to assess teachers' proficiency in ICT, their frequency of ICT use in educational settings, and their perspectives on computers and the Internet. The study employed questionnaires, including a personal inquiry form, a teachers’ ICT knowledge and frequency of ICT use section, and computer and Internet attitude scales, to gather data from 272 teachers. Key findings revealed that teachers exhibited a relatively low level of ICT knowledge and limited use of ICT in the classroom, primarily using it for basic tasks like internet browsing, email, and word processing. The study also identified positive correlations between ICT knowledge and usage, highlighting the impact of previous computer course participation and experience on teachers’ ICT skills and attitudes. Furthermore, the research explored the influence of demographic variables such as gender and teaching experience on teachers’ ICT proficiency and attitudes, indicating differences in knowledge and usage between male and female teachers, and a correlation between less experience and higher knowledge. The study's conclusions align with previous research, emphasizing the need for improved ICT training and support to enhance technology integration in Turkish primary schools.

The overall aims and the research question
the study aims to investigate the status of Turkey primary school teachers with regard to their
levels of knowledge on and use of ICT, and their attitudes towards computers and the Internet.
With those concerns in mind, the study examines the following research questions: 1. What are
teachers’ levels of knowledge on ICT? 2. What are the levels of ICT use in education among
teachers? 3. What are their attitudes towards computers and the Internet? 4. What are the
relationships between certain variables such as gender, teaching experience, Internet and
computer use per hour each day, and the dependent variables highlighted above?
The approach employed and the tools and techniques used
2.2.1. Personal inquiry form
The personal background form used in the study was composed of five questions concerning
teachin experience, gender, duration of daily Internet and computer use and previous
participation in an ICT course.
2.2.2. Teachers’ knowledge of ICT and frequency of ICT use The second section of the
questionnaire aimed to determine teachers’ software knowledge and frequency of software use in
education. The questionnaire used in the research was developed by Papanastasiou & Angeli
(2008). The scale assessing teachers’ ICT knowledge (ICT-K) consists of 14 items and is a 1-to-
5 Likert-type scale (with response options as follows: I cannot use it, I can use it to a small
extent, I can use it satisfactorily, I can use it well, I can use it very well) that assesses teachers’
knowledge on various software. The questionnaire of frequency of ICT use in education (ICT-U)
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consists of 15 items. Teachers’ response options in ICT-U are respectively “never, once or twice
a semester, once or twice a month, once or twice a week, almost every day”. The questionnaire
was first translated from English to Turkish and the translation was scrutinized by 3 field and
linguist experts in both Turkish and English version. After the pilot study, it was administered to
272 teachers from various fields working in public primary schools.
2.2.3. Computer and Internet attitude scale The computer attitude scale (CAS) used in the scale
was developed by Papanastasiou & Angeli (2008). Internet attitude scale (IAS) was developed
by the researcher. The scales aim to assess teachers’ beliefs about computers and Internet’s value
in educational use. The two scales were 1-to-5 Likert-type scales (from 5= completely agree to
1= completely disagree). CAS consists of 15 items developed by Papanastasiou & Angeli (2008).
The scale was translated into Turkish. The translation was scrutinized by field and linguist
experts in both Turkish and English version. Next, the Internet attitude scale was prepared which
consists of 23 items. Subsequently, the two scales were pilot-tested to be administered to 272
teachers from various fields working in public primary schools.
The outcome and findings, including the relationship to your own proposed research
The first shows that teachers’ ability in ICT and their ICT use in learning-teaching process are
fairly low. The most common uses of ICT are the Internet, e-mail, word processing and
educational CDs, though rarely used. The results seem similar to the results of previous research
(Schug, 1998; Garland & Noyes 2004; Thomas & Stratton, 2006; Alghazo, 2006; Tondeur, van
Braak & Valcke, 2007). The study also revealed that ICT use in classroom is limited, a finding
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which is attributed to the level of experience; and the most commonly used ICT types were
determined as the Internet, e-mail, word processing, and educational CDs. The second finding
demonstrates that teachers’ level of knowledge of ICT is low, too. According to the results of the
study, most teachers know how to use the Internet, email, word processing, graphics and
presentation software. The low levels of knowledge on ICT might result from the fact that these
technologies require technical knowledge. In relation to these results, another finding is that
there is a significant correlation between the levels of knowledge about ICT and the use of ICT
in education. This is an important finding as it shows that the higher the level of knowledge on
ICT, the higher its level of use in education. Another finding supporting this result is the
significant differences observed between teachers in terms of their previous participation in a
computer course. As demonstrated by Anderson (2006), Bove´e, Voogt & Meelissen (2007),
øúman, Evirgen & Çengel (2008), Paraskeva, Bouta & Papagianni (2008) in their research on
ICT, the higher the mean level of knowledge, the more the ICT use. Teachers with previous
computer experience have higher levels of knowledge on ICT and their ICT use is more frequent.
Teacher’s levels of ICT use show that they use these technologies as information transmission-
based tools. How teachers use ICT in teaching-learning process is affected by their teaching
approaches, which is also supported by findings of study (Alghazo, 2006; Niederhauser &
Storddart, 2007; Teo, Chai, Hug & Lee, 2008b). The third finding is related to attitudes. It shows
that teachers’ attitudes towards both the Internet and computers are at a medium level. However,
their levels of attitude towards computers are lower than those towards the Internet. The findings
of this research confirm those of Hong & Koh (2002), Paraskeva, Bouta & Papagianni (2008),
Garland, & Noyes, (2004), Aral et al., (2006); Torkzadeh, Chang, & Demirhan (2006), Albirini
(2006) on computers and the Internet. These researches concluded that teachers had positive
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attitudes. The fourth finding concerns the gender variable. In the comparisons in terms of gender,
ICT knowledge, their use in education and attitudes towards the Internet show statistical
differences. Male teachers had higher scores than female teachers in terms of knowledge and
usage. They had more positive attitudes than female teachers did. On the other hand, in terms of
attitudes towards computers, there exist no significant statistical differences. There are similar
findings revealed in the literature by Garland & Noyes (2004), Çelik & Bindak (2005), and Hong
& Koh (2002). In these researches, gender was found to be a significant variable itself but rather
it can be assumed to be shaped by experience, as well as cultural and educational objectives. The
fifth finding involves teachers’ experience. Teachers’ knowledge of ICT and levels of use and
attitudes towards the Internet and Computers show the same difference according to years of
experience. The less the years of experience, the higher their knowledge and ICT use. In
addition, they have more positive attitudes, a finding which is, in fact, not suprising. In the
framework of Lisbon Submit of 2002, the studies conducted at schools to disseminate ICT use
and the growing of these youth with these technologies may be effective factors. Furthermore,
openness of the youth to innovations may be another factor. The research conducted by the
National Center for Educational Statistics (2006) indicated that teachers with less years of
experience use ICT more for educational purposes. However, in the research conducted by
Niederhauser & Stoddart (2001), no differences could be found. The last finding of the research
is the positive correlation between teachers’ experience and knowledge of ICT, computer and
Internet attitudes. These findings reveal that the more the teachers’ level of knowledge, the more
their positive attitudes. Furthermore, as the duration of Internet and computer use increases,
experiences and attitudes toward ICT also improve. These results are similar to those of Garland
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& Noyes (2004), Alghazo (2006), Torkzadeh, Chang & Demirhan (2006), Paraskeva, Bouta &
Papagianni (2008).
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