Abstract

Based on survey responses from more than 500 third-grade teachers, this study addressed three research questions relating to technology integration and its impact in rural elementary schools. The first analyses compared rural with non-rural teachers, revealing that the rural teachers had more positive attitudes toward technology integration. Then analyses examined dynamics influencing technology integration (operationalized as the sophistication of students' technology use) in rural schools only. Regression results showed that attitudes, teachers' preparation for using technology, and the availability of technology had significant positive associations with technology integration, whereas the schools' remoteness and socioeconomic status did not have significant associations. Notably and in contrast to some recent reports, responses from a number of rural teachers indicated that their access to instructional technology continues to be limited and that their preparation for using technology has been inadequate to support the engagement of students with sophisticated technology applications. (Contains 1 table and 5 footnotes.)

Citation

Howley, A., Wood, L. & Hough, B. (2011). Rural Elementary School Teachers' Technology Integration. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26(9),. Retrieved August 14, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/50379/.

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Keywords

• Access to Computers
• Computer Attitudes
• educational technology
• Elementary School Teachers
• Grade 3
• Regression (Statistics)
• Rural Schools
• Rural Urban Differences
• School Location
• teacher attitudes
• teacher education
• Teacher Surveys
• technology integration
• Technology Uses in Education