Understanding Web-Based Professional Development in Education: The Role of Attitudes and Self-efficacy in Predicting Teachers’ Technology-Teaching Integration

There is a large body of study concerning primary school teachers’ technology integration, and their web-based professional development self-efficacy and attitudes. However, little research has been particularly conducted to investigate the effects of self-efficacy and attitudes toward professional development on teachers’ intention to integrate technologies in their teaching activities. Using a sample of 368 primary school teachers, we empirically investigate how teachers’ technology integration is affected by their self-efficacy and attitudes toward web-based professional development. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, and stepwise regression were adopted in this study. Results show that the primary school teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward web-based professional development are the important predictors of their perceptions of integrating technology into their teaching. The results indicate that improving the primary school teachers’ learning attitudes and cultivating their self-efficacy are conducive to the intention to integrate technology with their teaching activities, which may strengthen the teaching effectiveness through the aid of web-based technologies. Besides, Internet experience may help teachers feel confident about their own ability to participate teachers’ web-based professional development programs, and will lead to more positive teaching conceptions of technology integration.