Design of a Technology adoption model to assess the acceptance of mobile technologies among Primary Education teachers

Abstract

Mobile devices constitute one of the technologies that have experienced a greater popularity explosion in the past few years, having been consolidated as one of the most used technologies in day-to-day activities for people from all social backgrounds. This fast expansion has prompted the interest of a growing number of fields in the potential advantages derived from the use of these devices. The field of education is no exception, and it has coined the term mobile learning (or mLearning) to group all initiatives seeking to take advantage of these technologies. Although the first mobile learning experiences were primarily developed in the informal and non-formal education fields, we have seen a growing number of initiatives implemented in formal education contexts. This phenomenon has been promoted in the last decade by the appearance and fast development of two devices, smartphones and tablets, which have fostered its inherent advantages and helped it overcome its main shortcomings. The most notable advantages of the use of mobile devices in formal education processes are the adaptation of contents to the educational needs of students, the ability to integrate multimedia resources, the ability to facilitate communication and interaction between all the educational agents, and the increased flexibility of the teaching-learning process, allowing us to break the barriers of the classroom for learning to happen anytime and anywhere. Consequently, today the integration of mobile technologies in the teaching methodologies of formal learning contexts constitutes a topic of growing concern, as is evidenced by the implementation of different initiatives by public administrations. However, this interest does not seem to be producing any results, and the policies developed by administration do not always bring about the desired methodological change. One of the key agents for the success of these initiatives are teachers, given that they have the last word over which methodologies they will employ in the classroom. Therefore, knowing the factors that condition their decision to use methodologies involving mobile technologies is essential for designing successful technology integration initiatives. However, the study of mobile technology acceptance on the part of teachers is still in an initial stage of exploration, and there are few studies focused on the topic. This thesis intends to contribute to the body of knowledge of this particular subject through the development of a technology adoption model based on the Technology Adoption Model by Davis (1989), which has been expanded with factors from other theories, and specifically designed to analyse the factors that condition the intention of primary education teachers to use mobile technologies. In order to develop this model, a series of studies were carried out in a sequential manner. Firstly, a systematic literature review was carried out together with a mapping study to determine the current state of research in this field, to establish the most adequate practices and to identify areas subject to study. Based on the results obtained, a first draft of the model was proposed and subjected to a content validation process by a group of experts. After the validation, and following the judges’ suggestions, three intermediate (or pre-pilot) studies were carried out with the model to detect any possible improvements to be made. These studies were conducted with pre-service teachers in their university education period, given the difficulty of accessing the study population and the similarity between both groups, which has been proven in previous studies on the matter. Additionally, aiming to acquire experience with the research methodology and data analysis using technology acceptance models, a research stay was made in the University of Macau under the supervision of Professor Timothy Teo, during which two studies reflecting the interests of both research groups were conducted. These studies were focused on the influence of teaching beliefs and cultural values in the technology acceptance of university professors. After the conclusion of these studies, a synthesis and critical revision of the model was carried out, and the appropriate aspects were modified. The result of this research is a model composed of nine constructs: subjective norm, perceived enjoyment, compatibility, self-efficacy, anxiety, facilitating conditions, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioural intention, plus two dimensions from Hofstede’s cultural value theory (indulgence and individualism/collectivism) as moderating variables.