A study of Chinese technical and vocational college teachers' adoption and gratification in new technologies

Abstract

The problem motivating this research is the rapid introduction of educational technologies and the strong push to use new technologies in technical and vocational training in China coupled with varied responses and uneven adoption of new tools on the part of practitioners. This study investigated the factors that influence technical and vocational college teachers' adoption and appreciation of information and communication technology (ICT) in China using the technology adoption and gratification (TAG) model. At total of 535 teachers from public technical and vocational colleges were surveyed using a purposive sampling procedure. The survey data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings suggest that the use of ICT had three primary determinants: teaching purpose, research purpose and academic purpose. Technical and vocational college teachers' technology adoption and gratification was directly and indirectly predicted by their computer self-efficacy, intention to use, perceived ease of use and usefulness of ICT. Most importantly, the TAG model accounted for 77% of the variance in teachers' gratification using those predictive variables. This research successfully applied the TAG model and it further fosters recommendations for future investigations. This study contributes to theoretical, methodical and practical understandings of the use of ICT in technical and vocational education, which has been much less explored than in K-12 education and university settings.

Online learning satisfaction in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A regional comparison between Eastern and Western Chinese universities

“…Consistent with recent studies (Bin et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2019;Thongsri et al, 2019;Yalçın & Kutlu, 2019), the statistical analyses have verified that Eastern and Western Chinese university students' computer self-efficacy directly impacts their perceived ease of use and usefulness of online learning platforms. This implies that the university students' perceived ease of use and usefulness of online learning platforms depend on their beliefs in their individual capabilities to use it for study.…”

“…Many previous studies have validated the significant associations between computer self-efficacy, perceived ease of use and usefulness (Abdullah & Ward, 2016;Bin et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2019;Thongsri et al, 2019;Yalçın & Kutlu, 2019). For instance, according to Abdullah and Ward's (2016) meta-analysis, computer self-efficacy is the greatest predictor of students' perceptions of the ease of use of online learning systems or platforms, and it is also an important predictor of students' perceived usefulness.…”

“…Extensive studies have shown that computer self-efficacy significantly impacts learners in various ways within a technology-supported environment (Dong et al, 2020;Heckel & Ringeisen, 2019;Wang et al, 2019;Zhu & Mok, 2020). Most importantly, recent studies have found that computer self-efficacy is directly related to the two key motivation variables in the TAM, perceived ease of use and usefulness (Bin et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2019;Thongsri et al, 2019;Yalçın & Kutlu, 2019). In other words, it is probable that university students with high computer self-efficacy find it easy to use online learning platforms as well as realize their value and benefits.…”

“…On the one hand, perceived ease of use and usefulness have frequently been considered core variables in different studies on online learning (Ameen et al, 2019;Esteban-Millat et al, 2018;Farhan et al, 2019;. On the other hand, technology satisfaction is also directly impacted by perceived ease of use and usefulness (Bin et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2019;Islam, 2016;Islam et al, 2018;Islam & Sheikh, 2020). However, as far as our knowledge is concerned, students' satisfaction with using online learning platforms has seldom been measured by perceived ease of use and usefulness in Chinese higher education.…”

Assessment of ICT in Tertiary Education Applying Structural Equation Modeling and Rasch Model

“…Nevertheless, prior investigations have not adequately explored how mediating variables, such as PEOU and PU, can establish indirect associations between either students' or lecturers' CSELE and their satisfaction with new technologies in higher education. For instance, Bin et al (2020) found that technical and vocational college teachers' perception of self-efficacy and subsequent satisfaction with new technologies were indirectly influenced by the technologies' PU and PEOU. Chen et al (2020) claimed that the online database adoption and satisfaction (ODAS) model confirmed that the PEOU and PU of databases are indirectly associated with postgraduate students' CSELE and satisfaction with the databases.…”