Mapping support strategies for pre- service teachers' ICT integration: SQD in Finland

Pre-service teachers confidence, their readiness to use ICT in education have been studied using various theoretical frameworks such as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) by Mishra and Koehler (2006), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by Aijzen (1991), Technology acceptance model (TAM) by Davis (1989) and several others. Quantitative TPACK studies provide insights into the ways how pre-service teachers assess their confidence with using ICT in education. Results of these studies typically emphasize the confidence more on pedagogy rather than technology. Especially, the knowledge about content specific technologies is assessed as weak, i.e. pre-service teachers have difficulties with knowing the technologies that are used by professional of different disciplines like math, history, gym, arts etc. Based on TPACK studies we can also see that there are rather strong differences in pre-service teachers’ readiness to use ICT in education. For some pre-service teachers the technology seem to be the challenging area compared to pedagogical knowledge or knowledge about taught contents. Within studies using the TPB framework one of the measured area is the perceived behavioural control or self-efficacy both referring to respondents confidence of using ICT for supporting teaching and learning. Based on previous TPB studies pre-service teachers have been rather condifent on their readiness to use ICT in education (see. Teo & van Schaik 2012; Teo, & Tan, 2012). Assessments were above the midpoints of the questionnaires used. Similar results has been gained when assessing pre-service teachers’ readiness to use ICT in education from the perspective of TAM i.e. the ease of use of the technology. Assessments have been slightly above the mid-point of the questionnaire (Teo, & van Schalk, 2009). According to Sointu et al () also with self-efficacy we can see strong differences among pre-service teachers. Also, based on study by Valtonen et al. (2015) the authentic experiences of learning with ICT seem to provide good support for developing pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy toward using ICT in education. The results above shows that pre-service teachers confidence for using ICT in education measured using different theoretical backgrounds and with various instruments is typically assessed slightly above mid-point of the scales, indicating that pre-service teachers are somewhat confident with using ICT for supporting learning, still also showing the need for further development. Also, the differences among pre-service teachers pose questions how teacher education could better consider pre-service teachers with different abilities and confidence. Still, aligning with Lei (2009) the pedagogically meaningful use of ICT seem challenging. Also, based on Tondeur et al. (2012) and Gao et al. (2011) the use of ICT in education pose challenges for early career teachers and pre-service teachers. Results above turns the focus on teacher education, how teacher education support the development of pre-service teachers’ readiness to use ICT in education. There are several approaches for developing pre-service teachers’ confidence for using ICT in education. Based on qualitative review study by Tondeur et al. (2012) the supporting elements can be seen in three layers with SQD This paper contain three phases: First, the psychometrics on modified SQD instrument will be studied. Second, descriptive statistics of the SQD areas will be discussed. The aim of this study is to see how the support provided by the teacher education shows from pre-service teachers’ perspective. Methods: Research data was collected using a modified version of SQD instruments introduced by Tondeur et al (2012). Small modification for the questionnaire was conducted. The original questionnaire contained three statements that mentioned the internship periods, for example, I was able to learn to use ICT in the classroom through the internships. The questionnaire was modified to contain separate areas for normal teacher education i.e. courses and lessons at the teacher education department and separately for internship periods. The questionnaire was doubled from 24 statements to 48 statements. Within this paper, we focus on the section dealing with normal teacher education. Questionnaire contained 24 statements using one to six Liker type scale. The aim with changes was to keep the changes as small as possible i.e. changing the concept of internship with teacher education courses. Research data contains responses from two cohorts of second year pre-service teachers from two Finnish universities. The research data was collected during the spring semester 2018. Participation for the research was voluntary, data was collected during teacher education courses, focusing on the use of ICT in education. Aims of the research were opened to pre-service teachers. Total number of respondents was 203, most of the respondents were women (167, 82.7%), number of men was (35, 17.3%). Teacher education Finland contains the Bachelor of Arts (Education) degree (180 ECTS) and the Master of Arts (Education) degree (120 ECTS). Target group pre-service teachers were doing their bachelor degree studies. These studies contain mainly courses categorized as Basic and intermediate studies of education and multi-disciplinary studies. Basic and intermediate studies of education focuses on areas such as educational science, learning ethics, educational psychology and research methods. Multi-disciplinary studies focuses on different subjects taught at Finnish schools at grades 1 to 6 i.e. mathematics, history, Finnish and literature, arts, music etc. The aim of these courses is to provide pre-service teachers with skills and readiness to combine the content areas of different subject with pedagogical knowledge and also with technology. From the perspective of SQD framework the aim is that support for ICT integration would be provided during all courses, especially meaningful experiences of learning with ICT. Methods: In this paper we followed the foot step of Tondeur and his colleagues to examine the SQD models in Finnish teacher education context. The models were examined by confirmatory factor analysis. The fit of the model was determined by four goodness-of-fit indices: the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). According to Hu and Bentler (1999), the recommended cut-off values for a well-fitting model are closed to .90 (for CFI and TLI) and below .08 (for RMSEA and SRMR). internal consistency reliability. differences among t test Results: Altogether the SQD-instrument worked well in Finnish context. First, we tested the six-factor model with all 24 items. The results of the first attempt showed that the model did not fit the data well (CFI = 0.899, TLI = 0.883, RMSEA = 0.086, and SRMR = 0.059). After checking the modification indices, we correlated the residuals of REF3 with residuals of REF4, the residuals of AUT1 with the residuals of AUT2, and the residuals of AUT3 with the residuals of AUT4. Then, we performed the CFA again, and the results of the second test showed that model fit had been improved (CFI = 0.922, TLI = 0.908, RMSEA = 0.077, and SRMR = 0.051). Reliability of the SQD was measured by internal consistency reliability. The internal consistency reliability was estimated after examining the factor models of SQD. The internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach’s alphas) of six factors were as follows: ROL (α =.872), REF (α =.832), DES (α =.909), COL (α =.856), AUT (α =.857) and FEE (α =.953). Descriptive statistics concerning SQD areas: The SQD model provides an overview of six strategies used in teacher education to support the positive development of pre-service teachers’ readiness to take advantage of ICT in education. Results indicate that all areas of SQD were assessed above three except the Feedback (mean 2.57). The highest assessments were for the Role models and Collaboration. Both areas were assessed at the same level; mean value 3.89 indicating rather positive experiences of concerning teacher educators as role models in using ICT in education and possibilities for sharing ideas and experiences related to the use of ICT in education. The lowest assessments were for Feedback (mean 2.57) indicating that pre-service teachers find the amount of feedback they gain concerning their readiness to use ICT in education lower compared to other SQD areas. Also the Design was assessed rather low (mean 3.16) indicating that there could be more support and help available for designing lessons and materials using ICT. Assessments for Reflection and Authentic were moderate means (3.68 and 3.78) indicating rather neutral impressions of possibilities for discussing and reflecting about the use of ICT in education and about gaining experiences of using ICT for teaching and learning. When compared the results between women and men the differences were minimal, no statistical differences could be found on any of the six SQD areas. When compared the result between the two universities the differences could only be found in the Design area (t(194)=2.44, p<.05). The difference between universities was still small, only 0.36 (university 1, N=81, M=3.37, SD .98 and University 2, N=120, M=3.01, SD 1.03).