Background/Purpose
Computers and other technology have influenced teaching, yet we know little about physical educators' predispositions and use. The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary physical educators' attitudes and practices regarding technology integration. A secondary purpose was to examine relationships between attitude and practice.
Method
Based on a theoretical model an instrument was developed using past literature, content assessment by experts, and results from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple rounds of content review and a pilot study provided evidence of valid scores. Pilot study participants were 92 public school secondary physical educators within New York State. The actual study to investigate physical educators' attitude and technology use consisted of 616 participants from 42 states. The data collection instrument consisted of an attitude section (teachers' perception of importance/relevance, technology proficiency, contextual factors and teaching style) and two sections of technology use factors (content specific and general use).
Analysis/Results
Scores from the final measurement instrument were found to be reliable and valid. The alpha coefficient for the entire attitude section was calculated to be .900. The alpha coefficients were .961 and .791, respectively, for each use section. Fit statistics indicated that scores from the instrument for attitudes demonstrated construct validity (GFI =.8399, AGFI = .8005, RMSR = .0729, and RMSEA = .0828), and expert review provided strong evidence of content validity. Results suggest that teachers in this study had positive attitudes, yet a limited use of technology. Teachers reported a number of barriers that influenced their technology use including but not limited to budget, class size, and training. Most participants had some basic training in technology and used technology for general functions, like the Internet or email, on a daily basis. The majority of participants have knowledge and confidence when it comes to using technology for physical education, yet their actual use of the technology is not prominent. All attitude factors correlated with technology use. Some factors demonstrated stronger correlation (e.g., perceptions of relevance/importance of technology and technology use [r (510) = .565, p < .01] versus technology proficiency and context [r (510) = .182, p < .01]).
Conclusions
This study provides strong data to understand middle and high school physical educators' thoughts and current use of technology. These data are promising because physical educators similar to those who participated in this study may be willing to learn and apply technology if given opportunities to prepare, practice and utilize the appropriate resources.