The present study analyzes the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment on teachers’ attitude toward technology integration in Japanese and U.S. elementary schools. Teacher’s attitude plays an important role in influencing the effectiveness of ICT education from a variety of perspectives. A number of studies have been done regarding teachers’ attitude toward ICT, but there is very little research concerning international comparisons. The interest of observation in the present paper is the cross-cultural comparison between Japanese elementary school and U.S. elementary school teachers. The purpose of the paper is to identify the factors that affect teachers’ perception of ICT and how they differ between the two countries.
Past research supports the usefulness of technology for students to engage in collaborative learning. Also, when teachers view technology as a possible asset, the effectiveness of ICT is at maximal. Research in the field of ICT has provided evidences of a positive impact on students’ learning, but elementary school teachers may have mixed opinions about the use of technology. From the latest statistical analysis and literature reviews, it appears that Japan may be more hesitant to ICT education on societal and individual levels.
The technology acceptance model (TAM) was utilized to identify the teachers’ perceived ease of use and usability (PEUU), perceived usefulness (PE), and attitudes toward using technology (AT). The demographic and environmental sections (gender, age, teaching experience, the technology availability, and the frequency of ICT use) were added in the survey to examine additional factors that may affect the teachers’ attitude toward ICT. The data was collected from the teachers at the elementary schools in Hokkaido (northern Japan) and in southern Utah in the U.S. Independent t-tests analysis showed that the U.S. teachers had more positive PEUU, PU, and AT than did the Japanese teachers. Chi-square analysis on the ICT environmental factors revealed that the U.S. teachers were provided with richer technology environments. Overall, the U.S. teachers’ use of interactive boards, number of computers, and use of computers outnumbered the Japanese counterparts to a great extent. Multiple regression analysis between the demographics
and the TAM indicated that the younger U.S. teachers’ age significantly predicted the positive PEUU, and the Japanese gender was a significant predictor of PEUU, PU, and AT (male participants answered more positively). Multiple regression analysis between ICT environments and the TAM showed that the number of interactive boards in class was a strong predictor of Japanese teachers’ PU and AT, and the number of computers in a lab significantly predicted the Japanese teachers’ AT. In addition, the U.S. teachers’ PEUU significantly predicted the computer use.
One limitation arose in the present study regarding the sampling equivalence between the U.S. and Japan. In the U.S. the majority of teachers were female but that was not the case in Japan. Diversity of the U.S. education is a challenging factor in comparing with Japanese education in which curriculum tendsto be homogeneous throughout the country. Nevertheless, the present study found significant relationships in the teachers’ attitudes, the quality of ICT environments, and other factors that affect their perceptions of ICT between Japan and the U.S. As the popularity of ICT education increases worldwide today, the U.S. teachers’ positive beliefs about ICT and better quality of technology equipment may put the U.S.students in an advantaged position compared to the Japanese students.