Computer Use of Science Teachers and Their Attitudes toward Computer Supported Teaching: A Sample from Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine (i) science teachers‟ level of computer use, (ii) their attitudes toward Computer Supported Teaching (CST), and (iii) to investigate the correlation between science teachers‟ level of computer use and their attitudes toward CST. 75 female and 97 male totally 172 science teachers (91 science and technology, 26 physics, 26 chemistry, and 29 biology teachers) from 96 primary and secondary schools participated in the research during the 2008-2009 semester in Gaziantep, Turkey. Computer Supported Teaching Questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire has three parts, which consists of demographic items, level of computer use items, and Attitude toward Computer Supported Teaching items. The data gathered were analyzed by SPSS 14 software. Cronbach‟s Alpha value was 0.93. Mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation analyses were used. Results indicated that science teachers‟ level of computer use was high and their attitudes toward CST were positive. There was a moderate positive correlation between teachers‟ computer use level and their attitudes toward CST. Findings were discussed in the framework of the related literature, and some suggestions were made.