Constructing the Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers (TAC) Questionnaire (original) (raw)

This paper reports on the first stage of the construction and refinement process underway in pursuit of developing a brief composite instrument to measure teachers' attitudes toward computers. Items (n=284) from 14 questionnaires assessing teacher attitudes toward computers were completed by 118 educators in Texas in 1995. Internal consistency reliabilities for the 32 Likert-type and Semantic Differential subscales included in the battery ranged from 0.41 to 0.96, with 27 of the 32 indices falling in the "respectable" range of 0.70 of higher. Forty-five of the correlation indices computed for the subscales were 0.70 or higher, indicating that many subscale pairs shared half their variance or more in common. A higher-order factor analysis of the 32 subscales indicated that 4 higher-order attributes probably exist among the 32 subscales, and a cluster analysis of the subscales produced 6 major clusters. Constructing the Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers (TAC) Questionnaire The resulting 10-part composite instrument includes 284 items spanning 44 subscales fiom the following 14 computer attitude questionnaires: Computer Attitude Scale (Gressard and Loyd, 1986) 'confidence, likMg, anxiety, and usefulness The Computer Use Questionnaire (Griswold, 1983) 'awareness Attitudes Toward Computers Scale (Reece & Gable, 1982) 'general attitudes toward computers The Computer Survey Scale (Stevens, 1982) 'efficacy and anxiety Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (CARS) (Heinssen, et al.,1987) 'technical capability, appeal of learning and using computers, being controlled by computers, learning computer skills, traits to overcome anxiety ATC (Attitudes Toward Computers) (Raub, 1981) 'computer usage, computer appreciation, societal impact CAIN (Computer Anxiety Index) (Maurer & Simonson, 1983) 'examines avoidance of, negative attitudes toward, caution with, and disinterest in computers (anxiety and comfort) BELCAT (Blombert-Erickson-Lowery Computer Attitude Task) (Erickson, 1987) 'attitudes toward learning about computers and towards computers themselves Attitude Toward Computer Scale (Francis, 1993) 'affective domain Computer Attitude Measure (CAM) (Kay, 1993) 'cognitive (student, personal, general), affective, behavioral (classroom and home), and perceived control components of computer attitudes Computer Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ) (Knezek & Miyashita, 1993) 'computer importance, computer enjoyment, computer anxiety, computer seclusion Computer Attitude Items (Pelgrum, Reinen, & Plomp, 1993) 'computer relevance, computer enjoyment Computer Attitudes Scale for Secondary Students (CASS) (Jones & Clarke, 1994) 'cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes E-Mail (D'Souza, 1992) 'attitudes toward e-mail Each of the 44 subscales is described in more detail in Appendix A. 4. Construct (Factor) Validation The 284-item version of the TAC is currently being administered to a wide range of practicing and preservice K-12 educators in Texas and other states. The goal is to secure at least 600 responses so that a stable factor analysis can be carried out to determine the number of subscales (and items for each subscale) to be included in the final version of the TAC. Post-hoc reliability analyses will also be carried out to aid in final selection of items for each factor.