Pre-Service Teachers’ Computer Self-Efficacy and the Use of Computers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pre-service teachers’ computer self-efficacy on their use of computers. The research used a quantitative design whose data were collected by using a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire with responses ranging from 1(strongly agree) to 5(strongly disagree). Simple random sampling was used to select a representative sample of 400 participants from a population of 4000 pre-service teachers, of which 332 of them were successfully returned, yielding a response rate of 83%. The study employed the Technology-Acceptance Model with eight constructs, namely; demographic influence (DI), social influence (SI), basic computer skills (CS), access to computers (AC), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), computer self-efficacy (CSE), and actual computer use (AU). Factor analysis was used to analyse the data generated from the survey, with the help of PLS-SEM, using the SmartPLS software version 3.0. The findings of the study indicated that each of the identified factors in the model had a significant effect on CSE. In essence, the identified explanatory variables explained 73.7% of the variance in CSsE. The four independent variables explained 45.4% of the variance in PU of computers and 66.5% of the variance in PEOU of computer use. The CSE model also explained 60.6% of the variance in computer use. In order to develop a strong CSE for pre-service teachers, it is recommended that higher education institutions ensure that all students have access to the necessary computers, proper connectivity, and skilled technicians.