Journal of Business & Economic Policy

An Investigation of K-12 Teachers’ Attitudes toward Computer Technology use in Schools
Dr. Carol Jean Williams

Abstract
This paper addressed the lack of investigation of K-12 teachers’ attitudes toward computer technology use in schools. The study looks at teacher variables that might affect the implementation of computer use in the learning environment. A sample of 179 teachers in a Northeast Mississippi school district participated in this study. The survey, the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), consisted of two sections. In section one, teachers were asked to provide demographic information about themselves such as computer experience, access to a computer at home, age , gender, teaching level, teaching field, ethnicity , and education level. The second section was a 40-item questionnaire used to measure in-service teachers’ attitudes toward computer technology. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze mean differences in attitudes based on computer experience, computer at home, teaching field, teaching level, and age. The result revealed that there were significant differences between teachers’ attitudes as related to the teaching levels. No significant differences were found between computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking, and computer usefulness based on age, and teaching field. T-tests were used to analyze mean differences in attitudes based on gender and ethnicity. No significant differences were found between computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking, and computer usefulness based on ethnicity and gender. From these results, it was concluded that school districts could provide opportunities for inservice training and staff development for all teachers in educational technology with focus on integrating technology with curriculum. It was also concluded that teachers should be trained in the ways that technology can be used in their work environment.

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