Student acceptance of tablet devices in secondary education: A three-wave longitudinal cross-lagged case study

Abstract

As ICT is increasingly permeating all aspects of everyday life, it is apparent that education cannot leap behind. In this article we longitudinally investigate a much-debated obligatory full-scale implementation of tablet devices in a large secondary school. We adopt a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) approach to verify the dynamic nature of students' acceptance of the tablet as a learning tool at three waves of data collection, both at pre-and short and long-term post-adoption stages. The results clearly indicate the evolutionary nature of the acceptance process, challenging the adequacy of crosssectional approaches to technology adoption. In the pre-adoption stage, attitude appears as a key uptake factor, whereas three months later, due to practical and technical constraints, the attention shifts to subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Finally, six months after introduction indicative traces of habituation appear, raising concerns on the suitability of the TPB in established post-adoption circumstances. January 6 th , 2014Dear Editor(s), Please find attached the revised manuscript "Student Acceptance of Tablet Devices in Secondary Education: A three-wave longitudinal cross-lagged case study". This study draws upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour to design a cross-lagged longitudinal study that addresses the over-time interplay between pre-and post-adoption key uptake factors, i.e. attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control.We have taken into account and have responded to all of the reviewer comments, as requested in the decision e-mail. We elaborate on these issues in the rebuttal, which is part of the current manuscript.We declare that this manuscript has not been published previously and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. In addition, we assure that all authors have fully participated in the research and the article preparation and both of us have approved the submission.Looking forward to the results and feedback of the review procedure. Yours sincerely, Cédric Courtois, PhDCovering Letter Dear editor(s), Dear reviewers, First of all, we insist on thanking you for the time you have invested in providing feedback on the manuscript and allowing for the opportunity to submit a revised version. Your helpful comments have led to multiple modifications that are outlined one-by-one below. Reviewer 1Comment: "Page 7, line #5: (This is H1) here the word "wave" is used. It is explained later on in the text, but it would be helpful to explain it here where the word is used first." Response:The concept of wave is now explained in the introduction: "Three research waves, i.e. distinct moments of data collection, are analyzed: the pre-adoption expectation in September 2012, followed by post-adoption experiences measured at November 2012 and March 2013."Comment: "With regard to hypotheses 5, in particular 5b, I was a bit puzzled about the following. The authors assume a positive correlation between the sensed strength of the subjective norm and positive a...

Attitudes of Students and Parents towards ICT with Regard to the Experience of Using the iPad in Classroom

“…Given these findings, we can agree with the recommendation of Courtois et al (2014) that when introducing innovative technologies in education, implementation should be gradual, and expectations should be toned down to avoid loss of enthusiasm for ICT in parents. Additionally, sufficient ongoing support should be available to teachers in order to make full use of potential ICT advantages in education.…”

“…Many studies are relatively consistent in the finding that attitudinal factors explain either intention or actual use of ICT in education. For example, effects of teachers' attitudes on the usage of technology-supported teaching were found (Hu, Clark, & Ma, 2003), as well as the effects of students' attitudes on intention to use tablet devices (Courtois et al, 2014).…”

“…Hence, in this study we explicitly focus on students' and their parents' attitudes towards ICT. Studies have shown that students generally have positive attitudes (European Commission, 2013) and high expectations (Courtois et al, 2014) towards the implementation of ICT in education. Most students believe that using ICT during lessons has a positive effect on class atmosphere and various deep learning processes (European Commission, 2013).…”

Understanding learner attitudes towards the use of tablets in a blended learning classroom

“…Whereas the learners' attitudes may have been positive at the beginning of the iPad implementation, it is likely that, after three years of using the devices, their habitual use of them is more influential on their intention to use them than attitudes or perceived behavioural control alone. In fact, the authors suggest that subjective norms about the acceptance or rejection of technology may explain user acceptance of technology more than attitudes or perceived behavioural control because subjective norms become internalised over time (Courtois et al, 2014). Therefore, initial attitudes, whether positive or negative, are influenced by subjective norms at a later stage.…”

“…Learners' attitudes towards iPads were in the neutral range (see Table 2). In the only longitudinal study on the acceptance of a tablet as a learning device at home and school, Courtois et al (2014) found that at the outset of tablet implementation, positive attitudes were the strongest explanation for tablet usage. Six months later, results showed that the effects of attitude towards and perceived behavioural control of tablet usage were no longer significant.…”