Differences and Developments in Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of Prospective Chemistry Teachers Concerning the Use of ICT in Education

Abstract

ICT belongs to modern life and is playing a growing role in education. For effective implementation of ICT in the classroom, teachers need to develop both positive attitudes and self-efficacy towards using these tools in educational settings. However, information measuring how positive such attitudes towards and how developed teachers’ self-efficacy on the use of ICT in education are remains scarce. This study examines the development of prospective chemistry teachers' ICT-related attitudes and their corresponding self-efficacy. It focuses on secondary level chemistry pre-service teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy concerning the use of ICT in education in general, and in chemistry teaching in particular. Data was collected from pre-service teachers (n = 239) at different stages of their teacher education programs. The study describes the progression of domain-specific self-efficacy. It also investigates gender differences and highlights the influence of seminars on the use of ICT in science education.