Stages of concern of selected Illinois public high school teachers toward integration of the Internet into the curriculum

Includes bibliographical references (pages [162]-168).Change models suggest that change is a process and not an event and that the view of the individual is critical if change is to occur. Research on the concerns of teachers with respect to integrating the Internet into the curriculum is needed. Existing research examines growth rate and barriers to Internet use rather than the larger issues. The current study was designed to investigate the concerns of selected Illinois high school teachers toward integration of the Internet into the curriculum and to explore what differences, if any, exist between their concerns and the demographic variables of age, gender, education, teaching experience, subject area, Internet access, and training. Two hundred and fifty-five teachers from four high schools located in two DuPage County, Illinois, districts participated in this study. Participants completed a four-page, two-part survey. Section 1 consisted of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire from the Concerns Based Adoption Model, and Section 2 consisted of a demographics section written by the researcher. Findings indicated that teachers' highest and second highest stage concerns fell at the lower stages of the concerns continuum and a high percentage of the highest and second highest stage concerns were found to be at adjacent stages. Additionally, significant differences by district were found at Stage 1 and Stage 2 for six of the seven demographic variables. When examined as an aggregate group, patterns emerged and significant differences were also found. The results of the study support the developmental nature of concerns theory. In addition, the current study indicated that both districts were in the early stages of integrating the Internet into the curriculum and lagged behind in terms of training and staff development. Moreover, only 8.2% of teachers with one to nine years of total teaching experience reported having received any type of formal training. The lack of formal training for younger teachers in this study suggests a possibly larger problem, or a need for future studies that examine technology applications being taught in university preservice teacher education programs as they relate to integration of those applications into specific teaching strategies and not as ends themselves.Ed.D. (Doctor of Education