Internal Consistency Reliabilities for 14 Computer Attitude Scales.A compendium com·pen·di·um n. pl. com·pen·di·ums or com·pen·di·a 1. A short, complete summary; an abstract. 2. A list or collection of various items. of 14 previously-published instruments for assessing teachers' attitudes toward computers was administered to 621 educators in Texas, Florida, New York Florida is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:
2. TAC - Terminal Access Controller. ). Since many of the subscales were a decade old, an initial question to be resolved was whether the scales, as originally, published were still reliable. This article focuses on that question. Positive teacher attitudes toward computers are widely recognized as a necessary condition for effective use of information technology in the classroom (Woodrow Woodrow may refer to:
KAY Kansas Association of Youth , 1993; Knezek & Miyashita, 1994; Loyd & Gressard, 1984; Pelgrum, Janssen Reinen & Plomp, 1993; Woodrow, 1991). This article contains a description of how well each instrument measures what it claims to assess. The question is addressed for three related groups, notably: (a) preservice teachers, (b) practicing K-12 teachers, and (c) teacher educators. INSTRUMENTATION instrumentation, in music: see orchestra and orchestration. instrumentation In technology, the development and use of precise measuring, analysis, and control equipment. The Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers Questionnaire (TAC) was used for this research. It is a 10-part composite instrument including 284 items spanning 32 Likert and Semantic Differential Semantic differential is a type of a rating scale designed to measure the connotative meaning of objects, events, and concepts. Nominalists and realists Theoretical underpinnings of Charles E. subscales (Christensen & Knezek, 1996). The following 14 computer attitude questionnaires contributed to the TAC: Computer Attitude Scale (Gressard & Loyd, 1986) *confidence, liking, anxiety, and usefulness The Computer Use Questionnaire (Griswold, 1983) *awareness Attitudes Toward Computers Scale (Reece & Gable gable Triangular section formed by a roof with two slopes, extending from the eaves to the ridge where the two slopes meet. It may be miniaturized over a dormer window or entranceway. , 1982) *general attitudes toward computers The Computer Survey Scale (Stevens, 1982) *efficacy and anxiety Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (CARS) (Heinssen, Glass, & Knight, 1987) *technical capability, appeal of learning and using computers, being controlled by computers, learning computer skills, traits to overcome anxiety. ATC ATC Air Traffic Control ATC Average Total Cost ATC Certified Athletic Trainer ATC At the Center (Hartford, Maine retreat center) ATC Applied Technology Council ATC All Things Considered (Attitudes Toward Computers) (Raub, 1981) *computer usage, computer appreciation, societal so·ci·e·tal adj. Of or relating to the structure, organization, or functioning of society. so·ci  e·tal·ly adv.Adj. impact CAIN (Computer Anxiety Index) (Maurer & Simonson, 1984) *examines avoidance of, negative attitudes toward, caution with, and disinterest dis·in·ter·est n. 1. Freedom from selfish bias or self-interest; impartiality. 2. Lack of interest; indifference. tr.v. To divest of interest. Noun 1. in computers (anxiety and comfort) BELCAT (Blombert-Ericson-Lowery Computer Attitude Task) (Erickson, 1987) *attitudes toward learning about computers and towards computers them selves Attitude Toward Computer Scale (Francis, 1993) *affective domain affective domain, n the area of learning involved in appreciation, interests, and attitudes. Computer Attitude Measure (CAM cam, mechanical device cam, mechanical device for converting a rotating motion into a reciprocating, or back-and-forth, motion, or for changing a simple motion into a complex one. ) (Kay, 1993) *cognitive (student, personal, general), affective affective /af·fec·tive/ (ah-fek´tiv) pertaining to affect. af·fec·tive adj. 1. Concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions; emotional. 2. , behavioral behavioral pertaining to behavior. behavioral disorders see vice. behavioral seizure see psychomotor seizure. (classroom and home), and perceived control components of computerattitudes Computer Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ CAQ Center for Audit Quality (New York, New York) CAQ Certificat d'Acceptation du Quebec CAQ Computer-Aided Quality Assurance CAQ Certificate of Added Qualification CAQ Computer-Aided Quality Control CAQ Condition Adverse to Quality ) (Knezek & Miyashita, 1994) *computer importance, computer enjoyment, computer anxiety, computer seclusion seclusion Forensic psychiatry A strategy for managing disturbed and violent Pts in psychiatric units, which consists of supervised confinement of a Pt to a room–ie, involuntary isolation, to protect others from harm Computer Attitude Items (Pelgrum, Janssen Reinen, & Plomp, 1993) *computer relevance, computer enjoyment Computer Attitudes Scale for Secondary Students (CASS CASS Cardiology, cardiovascular surgery A randomized, open label, multicenter trial that compared the outcomes of CABG vs. medical therapy on M&M in Pts with coronary artery disease after an MI. See Angina, CABG, Silent ischemia. ) (Jones & Clarke, 1994) *cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes E-Mail (D'Souza, 1992) *attitudes toward e-mail Subjects In Texas, Florida, New York, and California, 621 educators completed the TAC during 1995-96. Most were K-12 educators from seven school districts spanning the regions of North, South, East, and West Texas. Small samplings of K-12 educators from California and Florida were included in the group as well. University faculty from two universities in Texas and one from Florida also provided data for the study. Preservice educators from a university in the northern region of Texas and one in the southern region of Texas were also represented. Table 1 shows the number of respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. falling in each of the categories of K-12 educators, preservice teachers, and university faculty. Results Table 1 lists the name, place of origin, and 1995-96 internal consistency In statistics and research, internal consistency is a measure based on the correlations between different items on the same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. reliability (Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's  (alpha) has an important use as a measure of the reliability of a psychometric instrument. It was first named as alpha by Cronbach (1951), as he had intended to continue with further instruments. ) by K-12 teacher,
preservice teacher, and teacher educator group, plus the original
reliability (if published) for 32 subscales included on the TAC. Results
indicate that most of the attitudinal subscales that were originally
strong have held up well over time. However, there are notable
exceptions, such as the widely-used Loyd & Gressard Confidence
subscale, with an internal consistency reliability of .86 reported in
1986, but an average alpha of .75 (which is still respectable) in
1995-96.
Several lesser-known attitudinal subscales that exhibit high reliabilities and would appear to warrant wider use are listed in Table 2. Especially worthy are those subscales which exhibit high reliability without excessive length. These are the Computer Anxiety subscale (CA) from the BELCAT (Blombert-Erickson-Lowery Computer Attitude Task) (Erickson, 1987); E-mail for Classroom Learning (D'Souza, 1992); the Semantic Differential subscale (KSD KSD Kent School District KSD Kentucky School for the Deaf KSD Kansas School for the Deaf KSD Key Storage Device KSD Kelso School District KSD Kyrene School District #28 (Tempe, Arizona, USA) KSD Kappa Sigma Delta ) from the Computer Attitude Measure (Kay, 1993); subscale 'A' from the Computer Attitudes Scale for Secondary Students (CASS) (Jones & Clarke, 1994); the Attitudes Toward Computers subscale (ATC) (Raub, 1981); the Computer Enjoyment subscale (ENJ) from Pelgrum, Janssen, Reinen, & Plomp (1993); Kay's (1993) Teacher subscale (KT) of the Computer Attitude Measure; the Anxiety subscale (Anxiety) of the Computer Attitude Questionnaire (Knezek & Miyashita, 1994); and the Anxiety subscale (CASA Ca´sa n. 1. A house or mansion. I saw that Enriquez had made no attempt to modernize the old casa, and that even the garden was left in its lawless native luxuriance. - Bret Harte. ) of the Computer Attitude Scale (Loyd & Gressard, 1984). Items for each of these ar e listed in the Appendix. References Christensen, R., & Knezek, G. (1996). Constructing the teachers' attitudes toward computers (TAC) questionnaire. Paper presented to the Southwest Educational Research Association Annual Conference, New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded , LA. Chu, P.C p.c. (post cibum), n a Latin phrase meaning “after meals”; the abbreviation may be used in prescription writing. ., & Spires, E.E. (1991). Validating val·i·date tr.v. val·i·dat·ed, val·i·dat·ing, val·i·dates 1. To declare or make legally valid. 2. To mark with an indication of official sanction. 3. the computer anxiety rating scale: Effects of cognitive style Cognitive style is a term used in cognitive psychology to describe the way individuals think, perceive and remember information, or their preferred approach to using such information to solve problems. and computer courses on computer anxiety. Computers in Human Behavior, 7, 7-21. DeVellis, R.F. (1991). Scale Development. Newbury Park, NJ: Sage. D'Souza, P. V. (1992, Winter). E-mail's role in the learning process: A case study. Journal of Research on Computers in Education 25(1), 256-264. Erickson, T.E. (1987). Sex differences in student attitudes towards computers. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association, or AERA, was founded in 1916 as a professional organization representing educational researchers in the United States and around the world. . Francis, L.J. (1993). Measuring attitude toward computers among undergraduate college students: The affective domain. Computers in Education 20(3), 251-255. Gardner, D.G., Discenza, R., & Dukes, R.L. (1993). The measurement of computer attitudes: An empirical comparison of available scales. Journal of Educational Computing computing - computer Research, 9(4), 487-507. Gressard, C.P., & Loyd, B.H. (1986). Validation See validate. validation - The stage in the software life-cycle at the end of the development process where software is evaluated to ensure that it complies with the requirements. studies of a new computer attitude scale. Association for Educational Data Systems Journal, 18(4), 295-301. Griswold, P.A. (1983). Some determinants of computer awareness among education majors. Association for Educational Data Systems Journal, 16(2), 92-103. Heinssen, R.K, Jr., Glass, C.R., & Knight, L.A. (1987). Assessing computer anxiety: Development and validation of the computer anxiety rating scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 3, 49-59. Jones, T., & Clarke, V.A. (1994). A computer attitude scale for secondary students. Computers in Education, 22(4), 315-318. Kay, R.H. (1993). An exploration of theoretical and practical foundations for assessing attitudes toward computers: The computer attitude measure (CAM). Computers in Human Behavior, 9, 371-386. Knezek, G.A., & Miyashita, K.T. (1994). A preliminary study of the computer attitude questionnaire. Studies on Children and Computers. Denton, TX: Texas Center for Educational Technology. Loyd, B.H., & Gressard, C P. (1984). Reliability and factoral validity of computer attitude scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44(2), 501-505. Maurer, M., & Simonson, M. (1984). Development of validation of a measure of computer anxiety. In M. Simonson (Ed.), Proceedings of selected research paper presentations. Annual Meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology The Association for Educational Communications and Technology is an academic and professional association dedicated to the effective use of technology in education. Members provide leadership in the field by promoting scholarship and best practices in instructional technology. , Dallas, TX. Pelgrum, W.J., Janssen Reinen, I.A.M., & Plomp, Tj. (1993). Schools, teachers, students, and computers: A cross-national perspective. Twente, Netherlands: I.E.A. Raub, A.C a.c., adv the abbreviation for ante cibum, a Latin phrase meaning “before eating.” . (1981). Correlates of computer anxiety in college students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation dis·ser·ta·tion n. A lengthy, formal treatise, especially one written by a candidate for the doctoral degree at a university; a thesis. dissertation Noun 1. , University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli. http://upenn.edu/. Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. , Philadelphia. Reece, M.J., & Gable, R.K. (1982). The development and validation of a measure of general attitudes toward computers. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 42, 913-916. Stevens, D.J.. (1982). Educators perceptions of computers in education: 1979 and 1982. Association for Educational Data Systems Journal, 145(1), 1-15. Woodrow, J.R.J. (1991). A comparison of four computer attitude scales. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 7(2), 165-187. Woodrow, J.E. (1992). The influence of programming training on the computer literacy Understanding computers and related systems. It includes a working vocabulary of computer and information system components, the fundamental principles of computer processing and a perspective for how non-technical people interact with technical people. and attitudes of preservice teachers. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 25(2), 200-218.
Internal Consistencey
Reliabilities for 32 TAC Subscales
Scale # Items Combined K-12 teachers
n=621 n=436
I (Knezek & Miyashita Importance) 7 .81 .84
J (Knezek & Miyashita Enjoyment) 9 .84 .87
Anxiety (Knezek & Miyashita Anxiety) 8 .91 .91
CASA (Loyd & Gressard Anxiety) 9 .91 .91
CASC (Loyd & Gressard Confidence) 10 .81 .81
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Liking) 10 .89 .90
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Usefulness) 10 .85 .85
REL (Pelgrum & Plomp Relevance) 7 .81 .81
ENJ (Pelgrum & Plomp Enjoyment) 9 .89 .88
CA (Compater Anxiety) 20 .95 .95
U (Utility) 7 .87 .88
MD (Male Domain) 6 .78 .78
S (Success) 4 .78 .77
NI (Negative Impact) 6 .77 .77
MOT (Motivation) 4 .82 .82
PI (Productivity Importance) 4 .87 .88
CUQ (Computer Use Questionnaire) 14 .72 .73
CSS (Computer Survey Scale) 8 .73 .75
ATC (Francis Attitude Toward Computers) 16 .91 .92
KS (Kay CAM Student) 5 .87 .89
KSD (Kay CAM Semantic Differential) 10 .93 .93
KT (Kay CAM Teacher) 5 .91 .93
CARSA (Technical Capability) 6 .73 .74
CARSB (Appeal of learning aboal using
computers) 4 .82 .85
CARSC (Being controlled by computers) 3 .59 .60
CARSD (Learning computer skills) 3 .68 .71
CARSE (Traits to overcame anxiety) 2 .46 .50
CASSA (Affective) 15 .94 .94
CASSB (Behavioral) 10 .79 .79
CASSC (Cognitive) 14 .69 .70
ATCS (Raub Attitude Toward Computer Scale) 8 .87 .88
E-MAIL 11 .95 .96
Scale Preservice Faculty Average
n=151 n=34
I (Knezek & Miyashita Importance) .77 .67 .76
J (Knezek & Miyashita Enjoyment) .81 .60 .76
Anxiety (Knezek & Miyashita Anxiety) .91 .85 .89
CASA (Loyd & Gressard Anxiety) .91 .84 .89
CASC (Loyd & Gressard Confidence) .70 .75 .75
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Liking) .85 .86 .87
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Usefulness) .81 .77 .81
REL (Pelgrum & Plomp Relevance) .79 .81 .80
ENJ (Pelgrum & Plomp Enjoyment) .88 .94 .90
CA (Compater Anxiety) .94 .95 .95
U (Utility) .82 .74 .81
MD (Male Domain) .79 .89 .82
S (Success) .79 .85 .80
NI (Negative Impact) .79 .72 .76
MOT (Motivation) .81 .81 .81
PI (Productivity Importance) .81 .86 .85
CUQ (Computer Use Questionnaire) .65 .77 .72
CSS (Computer Survey Scale) .63 .61 .66
ATC (Francis Attitude Toward Computers) .90 .90 .91
KS (Kay CAM Student) .77 .88 .85
KSD (Kay CAM Semantic Differential) .92 .95 .93
KT (Kay CAM Teacher) .87 .86 .89
CARSA (Technical Capability) .68 .67 .70
CARSB (Appeal of learning aboal using
computers) .74 .56 .72
CARSC (Being controlled by computers) .49 .57 .55
CARSD (Learning computer skills) .61 .44 .59
CARSE (Traits to overcame anxiety) .32 .58 .47
CASSA (Affective) .93 .93 .93
CASSB (Behavioral) .81 .81 .80
CASSC (Cognitive) .63 .60 .64
ATCS (Raub Attitude Toward Computer Scale) .86 .87 .87
E-MAIL .94 .92 .94
Scale Original
I (Knezek & Miyashita Importance) .82 [#]
J (Knezek & Miyashita Enjoyment) .82 [#]
Anxiety (Knezek & Miyashita Anxiety) .84 [#]
CASA (Loyd & Gressard Anxiety) .80 [*] .90 [^]
CASC (Loyd & Gressard Confidence) .86 [*] .89 [^]
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Liking) .85 [*] .89 [^]
CASU (Loyd & Gressard Usefulness) .82 [^]
REL (Pelgrum & Plomp Relevance) .64 [**]
ENJ (Pelgrum & Plomp Enjoyment) .73 [**]
CA (Compater Anxiety)
U (Utility)
MD (Male Domain)
S (Success)
NI (Negative Impact)
MOT (Motivation)
PI (Productivity Importance)
CUQ (Computer Use Questionnaire) .66 [*]
CSS (Computer Survey Scale) .56 [*]
ATC (Francis Attitude Toward Computers) .96 [+]
KS (Kay CAM Student) .73 [++]
KSD (Kay CAM Semantic Differential) .88 [++]
KT (Kay CAM Teacher) .77 [++]
CARSA (Technical Capability)
CARSB (Appeal of learning aboal using
computers)
CARSC (Being controlled by computers)
CARSD (Learning computer skills)
CARSE (Traits to overcame anxiety)
CASSA (Affective) .95 [n]
CASSB (Behavioral) .71 [n]
CASSC (Cognitive) .88 [n]
ATCS (Raub Attitude Toward Computer Scale) .87
E-MAIL .81 [+]
(*.)Woodrow, 1992
(^.)Loyd & Gressard, 1986
(#.)Knezek & Miyashita, 1994
(n.)Jones & Clarke, 1994
(++.)Kay, 1993 'D'Souza, 1992
(+.)Francis, 1993
(**.)Pelgrum & Plomp, 1993
Top Nine of 32 Attitudinal Scales
Scale Avg # Items
Alpha
CA .95 20
E-mail .94 11
CAM .93 10
CASSA .93 15
ATC .91 16
ENJ .90 9
KT .89 5
Anxiety .89 8
CASA .89 9
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