Pre-school and primary school pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards using technology in music education

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale that measures attitude towards using technology in music education and to investigate pre-school and primary school preservice teachers’ attitudes towards using technology in music education concerning their demographic variables and musical experiences. Research Methods: A total of 640 students studying in pre-school and primary education departments at a public university in Turkey participated in this research (N=640). Data were collected using a questionnaire for collecting the demographic information and the musical background of the respondents in addition to Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale, which was developed by the researchers in this study. Findings: Analyses resulted in an 8-item Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale with a Cronbach’s α of 0.931. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a statistically significant model fit to the data with six indices indicating a good fit and three indicating a substantial fit. Attitude towards using technology in music education did not show any significant difference concerning gender and musical background. However, primary school pre-service teachers had a more positive attitude than those of pre-school preservice teachers. Finally, age correlated with the attitude towards using technology in music education. Implications for Research and Practice: Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale is a valid and reliable research instrument. Having more experience in using technology or perceiving that the future profession and instructional program at the universities necessitate the use of technology improves attitude towards using technology. Positive attitudes of pre-service teachers, who feel themselves inadequate about using their voice and instruments, and have inadequate musical experience, maybe due to their belief that they will be able to compensate for these deficiencies in music with the opportunities offered by technology.