M´ odulo para Determinar la Resoluci´ on de Bajo Contraste

In this research study, a causal-comparative design was used to determine if there is a relationship between beginning teacher self-efficacy with technology and the level of

technology infusion in their undergraduate programs. Participants for the study were chosen from a large school district in southeastern North Carolina and were asked to complete a survey to determine their self-efficacy with technology integration in the classroom. The levels of technology integration infusion in the undergraduate programs reported by the study participants (dedicated technology course, technology infusion throughout the program, dedicated technology course and technology infusion throughout the program) were used to determine if there is a difference in technology integration self-efficacy among beginning teachers who graduated from those programs. The design of the study is discussed, and the research question and hypotheses are reviewed in this chapter. This chapter also includes information on the participants and setting of the study, the instrument that was used to capture data on the dependent variable (technology self-efficacy), the procedures that were followed, and how data was analyzed.

Design

The study utilized a non-experimental ex-post facto causal-comparative design. There was no control group, and no manipulation of the independent variable took place, so the design was non-experimental. With ex-post facto research, there is no manipulation of the independent variable because the characterizing event has already taken place and there is no random assignment to the different groups (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007; Haynes, Robinson, Edwards & Key, 2012; Wachter Morris & Wester, 2018). In the case of this study, the

independent variable was the level of technology integration in the undergraduate educator preparation program, and the participants had already completed their undergraduate programs. The researcher did not have any control over the group into which each participant fell, so the study was ex-post facto.

There are three categories of the factor or independent variable (level of technology infusion in the undergraduate program) within which a beginning teacher’s educator

preparation program might fall, which will be measured on an interval scale. The beginning elementary teachers have completed one of the following types of undergraduate program: (a) an undergraduate program that had a single course dedicated to teaching technology

integration; (b) an undergraduate program that infused technology integration throughout the curriculum, or (c) an undergraduate program that had both a dedicated technology course and technology infusion. This factor is considered a fixed factor because the categories represent the range of possible levels of technology infusion in an undergraduate educator preparation program, except for where there is neither a dedicated technology course or technology infusion in the program (Warner, 2013). A review of the self-reporting by the educator preparation programs within the state of North Carolina did not reveal any programs with no technology integration at all.

The measurement of technology self-efficacy was in quantitative terms, and while the Likert scale falls somewhere between ordinal and interval, there have been no issues reported with using the scale in parametric statistics. Results obtained from instruments using Likert scales have been found to provide useful and valid results (Warner, 2013). The use of the TTES is acceptable for this study, as Gall et al. (2007) assert that questionnaires may be used for data collection.

Research Question

The research questions for this causal-comparative study were as follows:

RQ1: Is there a difference in technology integration self-efficacy scores among

beginning elementary school teachers by level of technology infusion in the undergraduate educator preparation program (dedicated technology course, technology infusion, or dedicated technology course plus technology infusion) as measured by the Technology and Teaching Efficacy Scale (TTES)?

Hypothesis

The null hypothesis for this study was:

H01: There is no statistically significant difference in technology integration self-efficacy

scores among beginning elementary school teachers by level of technology infusion in the undergraduate educator preparation program (dedicated technology course, technology infusion, or dedicated technology course plus technology infusion) as measured by the Technology and Teaching Efficacy Scale (TTES).

Participants and Setting Population

The participants for this study were beginning elementary school teachers who graduated from a four-year educator preparation program. In North Carolina, there is a three- year induction program for new teachers, who are considered beginning teachers during that induction period (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2016). It is that definition of beginning teachers that will be used for this study; teachers within the first three years of their teaching careers. A convenience sample was drawn from the population of beginning elementary school teachers in one of the largest public-school systems in southeastern North Carolina.

Upon approval from the institutional review board (IRB) and the school system, electronic surveys, including a consent form, were sent to the beginning teachers through the Beginning Teacher Coordinator for the school system. Participation in the study was voluntary for the teachers.

With more than 50,000 students and 3,000 teachers, the school system is one of the top five largest school districts in the state, and one of the top eight for diversity. The school district website listed the demographic make-up of students for the 2017-2018 school year as 45.09% black, 29.07% white, 13.47% Hispanic, 1.86% Asian, 1.64% Native American, .50% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 8.37% Two or More. Approximately 75% of the students receive free or reduced meals, and 14.4% receive exceptional children’s services. There are 52 elementary schools in the school system, and elementary students comprised 47% of the system’s total enrollment. The teacher turnover rate for elementary schools was 17%, and 31.5% of the system’s elementary school teachers had three years or less of classroom teaching experience.

Sample

This study surveyed 126 beginning teachers, which according to Gall et al. (2007, p. 145), is the required minimum for a medium effect size with a statistical power of .7 at the .05 alpha level. According to Gall et al. (2007), there should be at least 15 participants in each group in causal-comparative research, and this study met that criterion. The sample of beginning teachers that was used in this study was a convenience sample drawn from one of the largest and most diverse school systems in North Carolina. The sample consisted of 24 males and 102 females. The average age of the sample was between 35 and 44 years old, and the average number of years of teaching for the sample was 3 years.

Group 1 (Dedicated Technology Course)

The dedicated technology group consisted of teachers for whom the undergraduate program included only a dedicated course for instructional technology. The group consisted of 11 males and 26 females. In terms of their reported ages, there were 6 participants in the 18- 25 age group, 16 in the 25-34 age group, 12 in the 35-44 age group, 1 in the 45-54 age group, and 2 in the 55-64 age group. There were 4 teachers who had been teaching for less than a year, 5 who had been teaching for a year, 7 who had been teaching for 2 years, and 21 who had been teaching for 3 years.

Group 2 (Technology Infusion)

The technology infusion group included teachers whose undergraduate programs did not have a dedicated technology course. Instead, instructional technology integration was infused across methods courses. The group consisted of 5 males and 17 females. Of the participants in this group, 5 were in the 18-24 age group, 8 in the 25-34 age group, 3 in the 35- 44 age group, 3 in the 45-45 age group, and 3 in the 55-64 age group. Three teachers reported having less than one year of teaching experience, six reported having one year of experience, four reported having two years of experience, and nine teachers reported having three years of experience.