Turkish pre-service science and mathematics teachers’ computer related self-efficacies, attitudes, and the relationship between these variables

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish pre-service science and mathematics teachers’ computer self-efficacies (CSEs) and computer attitude (CA) considering gender, year in program, and computer ownership as independent variables. Additionally the study aimed to examine the relationship between CSE and CA. Computer Self-efficacy Scale (CSES) and Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) were administered to 605 freshmen and senior teacher candidates. Descriptive results indicated that overall pre-service teachers had relatively high scores on both scales. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that a participant’s gender was not a significant factor on his/her CSE and CA scores except for the computer liking sub-scale of the CAS. Seniors had higher scores than freshmen in the CSES and in the confidence dimension of the CAS. Those participants who owned computers had significantly higher scores on the CSES and CAS as compared to those who did not own a computer. A significant three-way interaction was found among the three independent variables, namely gender, major of study and computer ownership. Finally, correlational analysis showed that participants’ CSES scores related to sub-scale scores of the CAS at varying degrees.