Multimedia use and its impact on the effectiveness of educators: a technology acceptance model perspective

Abstract

Amidst the contemporary shifts within early childhood education (ECE) in China, the significance of multimedia tools and their effective deployment by educators is increasingly paramount. Situated within the theoretical underpinnings of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this inquiry elucidates the intricate dynamics between the Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) of said tools and their consequential influence on educators’ effectiveness. Empirical data gleaned from a rigorous quantitative survey of 400 educators within ECE institutions in Guangdong Province underscore the importance of PU and PEU as determinants of the successful assimilation of multimedia tools, thereby influencing the pedagogical efficacy of educators. There are several implications of this investigation. The study primarily contributes to the academic discourse by bridging a discernible lacuna and offering insights into multimedia tool adoption dynamics within the specific milieu of ECE in China. The findings have implications for a spectrum of stakeholders, from multimedia tool developers to educational policy-makers, underscoring that tools, to be truly transformative, must be perceived as both intrinsically valuable and user-centric. Notwithstanding the robustness of the findings, the geographically circumscribed focus on Guangdong Province warrants prudence in generalizing insights across China. This suggests the need for future scholarly endeavours to broaden the research purview across diverse provinces, aspiring to provide a more holistic understanding of the dynamics of multimedia tool integration within China’s expansive ECE domain.