Exploring technology-related belief structures: domain-specific and domain-general beliefs of preservice science teachers

Wilken, Sarah; Mahler, Daniela; Heuckmann, Benedikt

Abstract

Teachers’ beliefs and their structure have been shown to either hinder or facilitate the integration of technology into their classrooms. Although beliefs are a complex and latent construct influenced by both domain-general and domain-specific factors, they have been predominantly studied qualitatively or from a domain-general perspective. To address this gap, a closed-ended questionnaire was developed to assess preservice science teachers’ domain-general and domain-specific technology-related beliefs, and the belief structure was analysed with exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM). This analysis yielded four domain-general and four domain-specific scales, with ESEM indicating that both are distinct yet interrelated beliefs.