Web-Searching To Learn: The Role of Internet Self-Efficacy in Pre-School Educators’ Conceptions and Approaches

Abstract

Background:This study was conducted to explore the relationships between pre-school educators’ conceptions of and approaches to learning by web-searching through Internet Self-efficacy.Material and methods:Based on data from 242 pre-school educators who had prior experience of participating in web-searching in Taiwan for path analyses, it wasfound in this study that conceptions of learning by web-searching play a major role in approaches to learning without Internet Self-efficacy (ISE).Results:The results indicated that preschool educators’ Internet self-efficacy was the significant moderator of their conceptions of and approaches to learning by web searching.Conclusions:this result suggests that improving preschool educators’ ability to use the Internet as well as their use of relevant web-based tools may increase their approaches to learning by web-searching, which may in turn strengthen their learning performances in Internet-based environments.