Teachers' attitudes toward technology as educational reform

Computers have been a part of our modern society for the last twenty years.  However, the same can not be said for computer technology in the classroom. Some educational reform enthusiasts believe that this resistance to reform can be traced to teachers' attitude towards technology as educational reform.

According to Gross, Nelson and Bernstein (1971), there are five barriers to successful implementation of an innovation such as computer technology: (1) teachers' lack of clarity about the innovation (2) teachers' lack of skills and knowledge needed to conform to the new role model (3) unavailability of required instructional materials (4) incompatibility of organizational arrangement with the innovation and (5) staff's lack of motivation. Many teachers do not understand the role that computer technology should play in their curriculum and instruction.  In addition, only 33% of teachers feel well prepared to integrate technology into their curriculum (NationalCenter for Educational Statistics 2000). This statement means that many teachers are not receiving training or have not been educated about how to implement technology to improve teacher productivity and student learning.   Some schools do not have access to computers and software. Mergendoller (2000) exposes the fact that half of the eight million computers in use in the nation's schools are older, pre-Windows machines  that will need to be replaced.Cuban (1986) states that one reason why implementation of an innovation is not successful is due to the fact that administrators envision schools as a military unit in which orders are given from the top and executed with dispatch and fidelity in settings where the service (i.e. teaching) is delivered in a highly decentralized form (i.e. many different schools and classrooms) (p. 56). He offers another reason. When viewing implementation as an order from the superiors, teachers are seen as simply technicians who can apply new devices to the classroom swiftly and without complication (p. 56).  These issues serve as a foundation for the teachers' lack of motivation.

References

Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York: Teachers College Press.

Gross, N., Giacquinta, J. B., & Bernstein, M. (1971). Implementing organizational innovations. New York: Basic Books Inc.

Mergendoller, J. R. (January 2000). Technology and Learning: A Critical Assessment. Principal, 5-9.

NationalCenter for Education Statistics. (September 2000). Teachers' tools for the 21st century: A report on teachers' use of technology. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000102A.pdf. (NCES Publication No. 2000-102) * For more information about this obstacle in technology innovation, consult the following books, articles and web sites:

http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/courses/fall97/education.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent/380/webproj/1mryanwal.html

Chin, S. & Hortin, J. (1993). Teachers' perceptions of instructional technology and staff development. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 22(2), 83-98.

Davidson, G. V. & Ritchie, S. D. (1994). Attitudes toward integrating computers into the classroom: What parents, teachers and students report. Journal of Computing in Childhood Education, 5(1), 3-27.

Dupagne, M. & Krendl, K. A. (1992). Teachers' attitudes toward computers: a review of the literature. Journal of Research On Computing in Education, 24(3), 421-429. Fann, G. L., Lynch, D. H. & Murranka, P. (1989). Integrating technology: attitudes as a determinant of the use of microcomputers. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 17, 307-317.

Fullan, M. G. (1991). The new meaning of educational change. New   York: Teachers College Press.

Hadley, M. & Sheingold, K. (1993). Commonalities and distinctive patterns in teachers’ integration of computers. American Journal of Education, 101, 261-315.

Hannafin, R. D. & Savenye, W. C. (1993). Technology in the classroom: The teachers' new role and resistance to it. Educational Technology, 33, 26-31.

Hodas, S. C. (1993, September 14). Technology refusal and the organizational culture of schools. Education Policy Analysis, 1(10). Retrieved on September 26, 2002 from http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/edu/hodas.txt

Huberman, A. M. (1993). The lives of teachers. New   York: Teachers College Press.

Huberman, A. M. & Miles, M.B. (1984). Innovation up close: How school improvement works. New York: Plenum.

Hughes, A. S. & Keith, J. J. (1980). Teacher perceptions of an innovation and degree of implementation. Canadian Journal of Education, 5(2), 43-51.

Little, J. W. (1996). The emotional contours and career trajectories of (disappointed) reform enthusiasts. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(3), 345-359.

Nias, J. (1996). Thinking about feeling: the emotions in teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(3), 293-306.

Piņa, A. A. & Harris, B. R. (1993). Increasing teachers’ confidence in using computers for education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Arizona Educational Research Organization, Tucson, AZ. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 365 648).

Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (2000). Teaching by machine. In Jossey-Bass reader on technology and learning (pp. 247-254). San   Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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