Adaptation and validation of a technology attitude scale for use by American teachers at the middle school level

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate the Technology Attitude Scale (TAS) for use by American teachers at the middle school level. The study provided an instrument for American middle school teachers to determine students' attitudes toward technology and concepts of technology.

The Technology Attitude Scale (TAS) , an adaptation of a Dutch instrument consisting of three sections, was used to collect descriptive information. The first section of the instrument obtained demographic information about the respondents including: (1) age (2) grade level (3) gender (4) school location (rural, urban) (5) respondents involvement with technology education.

The second section obtained information about students' attitudes toward technology. There were 26 items divided over 6 subscales, (interest, role pattern, consequences, difficulty, curriculum, and career). Students responded by using a five choice Likert-type scale with 3 to 5 items per subscale.

The third section obtained information about the students' concept of technology, measuring cognitive or knowledge aspects based on 5 generally accepted characteristics of the concept technology. There were 28 items divided over 4 subscales, (technology and society, technology and science, technology and skills, and technology and pillars).

Content validity was determined through a Panel of Experts consisting of five individuals with expertise in middle school education.

The study population included five middle schools in Virginia. It consisted of a Pilot Study (N = 48) and a Large Group Administration (N =185). Statistical analysis included reliability measures using Cronbach's homogeneity coefficient alpha (Attitude Scales) and KuderRichardson 20 (Concept Scales) with attention to demographic information. Both the Attitude Scales (overall correlation .81) and the Concept Scales (overall correlation .83) met the minimum criterion (.60).

The Technology Attitude Scale (TAS) has been adapted and validated for use by American teachers at the middle school level.