Critiquing Theory of Planned Behaviour as a method to assess teachers’ technology integration attitudes

Teachers’ attitudes towards using information and communications technologies in their respective classrooms are a key factor in facilitating successful technology integration (Bitner & Bitner, 2002). Recently, a survey of public school teachers conducted by the US Department of Education revealed that only “approximately one-third of the teachers reported feeling well prepared or very well prepared to use computers and the Internet for classroom instruction” (US Department of Education, 2000, p. viii). To promote a more positive attitude towards integrating technologies in the classroom, it is important to assess current technology attitudes amongst teachers and to promote the use of interventions to change negative attitudes. In our study (see Sugar, Crawley & Fine, 2004), we applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1988) to assess teachers’ technology attitudes. During our study, six teachers participated in semi-structured interviews, and teachers at four schools completed a follow-up, a 45-item questionnaire. In this colloquium, we critiqued the efficacy of the TPB as a basis for assessing teachers’ technology attitudes and beliefs.