Instruments

The instruments are intended to complement each other so that a profile of educators' attitudes and learner dispositions for an entire school system can be obtained, if desired. For example, the YCCI, CAQ, and TAC each contain two computer attitude subscales that measure the same constructs in primary school children, middle school students, and teachers. Various sections of the instruments employ Likert ('strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree') items, Semantic Differential items (ratings along a continuum between opposite pairs), and paired comparisons items (forced choice between two alternatives). Most operate on the principle that several items, when summed together, produce a more reliable index than a single item alone, and all are constructed so that each subscale can be used independently of the others. These instruments have been developed and validated over the past ten years by researchers associated with the Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning. All have built upon the work of previous scholars in many states and nations with support from numerous agencies, including the Meadows Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Fulbright Foundation, and the Texas Center for Educational Technology. All have been validated in numerous state, national, and international studies, and two of the development efforts were recognized by awards from the American Educational Research Association (Knezek & Miyashita, 1991) and the Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (Christensen & Knezek, 1997).

Self-efficacy Measures for Technology