Examining the Relationship between Teachers’ Individual Innovativeness and Professionalism

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ individual innovativeness and their teacher professionalism. The participants were 567 teachers working in elementary, middle and high schools located across Istanbul. The data were gathered through the "Individual Innovativeness Scale" and the "Teacher Professionalism Scale". In data analysis, arithmetic means and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis were used. The results of the study showed that the teachers’ characteristics of individual innovativeness fell into the group of early majority. The teachers’ innovativeness was found to be at the highest level in the dimension of openness to experience. There was a weak positive relationship between the individual innovativeness characteristics of openness to experience and opinion-leading, and teacher professionalism, which was significant.