The importance of attitudes toward technology for pre-service teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge : comparing structural equation modeling approaches

A large body of literature suggests that attitudes toward technology and its educational use are important determinants of technology acceptance and integration in classrooms. At the same time, teachers' Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) facilitates the meaningful use of technology for educational purposes. Overall, attitudes toward technology and TPACK play a critical role for technology integration and have been in the focus of many empirical studies. Albeit the attention that has been paid to these two concepts, their relation has not been fully understood. The present study contributes to the advancement of this understanding by examining the relations between three core technology attitudes (i.e., general attitudes towards ICT, attitudes towards ICT in education, and ease of use) and TPACK self-efficacy beliefs, based on a sample of N = 688 Flemish pre-service teachers in 18 teacher-training institutions. Using a variety of structural equation modeling approaches, we describe the TPACK-attitudes relations from multiple perspectives and present a substantive-methodological synergism. The analyses revealed that the attitudes toward technology and TPACK self-beliefs were positively related; yet, differences across the attitudes and TPACK dimensions existed, pointing to the delineation of general and educational perspectives on the use of ICE. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Developing a Questionnaire for Iranian Women's Attitude on Medical Ethics in Vaginal Childbirth

Background: Vaginal delivery is one of the challenging issues in medical ethics. It is important to use an appropriate instrument to assess medical ethics attitudes in normal delivery, but the lack of tool for this purpose is clear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire for the assessment of women’s attitude on medical ethics application in normal vaginal delivery. Patients and Methods: This methodological study was carried out in Iran in 2013 - 2014. Medical ethics attitude in vaginal delivery questionnaire (MEAVDQ) was developed using the findings of a qualitative data obtained from a grounded theory research conducted on 20 women who had vaginal childbirth, in the first phase. Then, the validation criteria of this tool were tested by content and face validity in the second phase. Exploratory factor analysis was used for construct validity and reliability was also tested by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient in the third phase of this study. SPSS version 13 was used in this study. The sample size for construct validity was 250 females who had normal vaginal childbirth. Results: In the first phase of this study (tool development), by the use of four obtained categories and nine subcategories from grounded theory and literature review, three parts (98-items) of this tool were obtained (A, B and J). Part A explained the first principle of medical ethics, part B pointed to the second and third principles of medical ethics, and part J explained the fourth principle of medical ethics. After evaluating and confirming its face and content validity, 75 items remained in the questionnaire. In construct validity, by the employment of exploratory factor analysis, in parts A, B and J, 3, 7 and 3 factors were formed, respectively; and 62.8%, 64% and 51% of the total variances were explained by the obtained factors in parts A, B and J, respectively. The names of these factors in the three parts were achieved by consideration of the loading factor and medical ethics principles. The subscales of MEAVDQ showed significant reliability. In parts A, B and J, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.76, 0.72 and 0.68, respectively and for the total questionnaire, it was 0.72. The results of the test–retest were satisfactory for all the items (ICC = 0.60 - 0.95). Conclusions: The present study showed that the 59-item MEAVDQ was a valid and reliable questionnaire for the assessment of women’s attitudes toward medical ethics application in vaginal childbirth. This tool might assist specialists in making a judgment and plan appropriate for women in vaginal delivery management

A Comparison Between Digital Competence in Two Nordic Countries’ National Curricula and an International Framework: Inspecting their Readiness for 21st Century Education

This study investigates the objectives and competence aims in the digital competence curricula of two Nordic countries for compulsory education and an international framework, DIGCOMP. The main aim of the study is to analyze the visions and main features of the Norwegian and Swedish national curricula, and inspect the extent to which they align with the DIGCOMP framework. The results show that the underlying visions and objectives of the frameworks largely converge. However, there are large discrepancies between the national curricula and DIGCOMP regarding the structure, the content covered (e.g., competence aims) and the instructional aspects. The findings and their implications for researchers, policy makers and curriculum developers are discussed

A comparison between digital competence in two Nordic countries' national curricula and an international framework: Inspecting their readiness for 21st century education

This study investigates the objectives and competence aims in the digital competence curricula of two Nordic countries for compulsory education and an international framework, DIGCOMP. The main aim of the study is to analyze the visions and main features of the Norwegian and Swedish national curricula, and inspect the extent to which they align with the DIGCOMP framework. The results show that the underlying visions and objectives of the frameworks largely converge. However, there are large discrepancies between the national curricula and DIGCOMP regarding the structure, the content covered (e.g., competence aims) and the instructional aspects. The findings and their implications for researchers, policy makers and curriculum developers are discussed.publishedVersio

The potential of international large-scale assessments for meta-analyses in education

Meta-analyses and international large-scale assessments (ILSA) are key sources for informing educational policy, research, and practice. While many critical research questions could be addressed by drawing evidence from both of these sources, meta- analysts seldom integrate ILSAs, and current integration practices lack methodological guidance. The aim of this methodological review is therefore to synthesize and illus- trate the principles and practices of including ILSA data in meta-analyses. Specifically, we (a) review four ILSA data inclusion approaches (analytic steps, potential, challenges); (b) examine whether and how existing meta-analyses included ILSA data; and (c) provide a hands-on illustrative example of how to implement the four approaches. Seeing the need for meta-analyses on educational inequalities, we situated the review and illustration in the context of gender differences and socioeconomic gaps in stu- dent achievement. Ultimately, we outline the steps meta-analysts could take to utilize the potential and address the challenges of ILSA data for meta-analyses in education.publishedVersio