Comparing technology acceptance of K‐12 teachers with and without prior experience of learning management systems : A Covid‐19 pandemic study

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic has caused a massive transformation in K-12 settings towards online education. It is important to explore the factors that facilitate online teaching technology adoption of teachers during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare Learning Management System (LMS) acceptance of Finnish K-12 teachers who have been using a specific LMS as part of their regular teaching before the Covid-19 pandemic (experienced group) and teachers who started using it for emergency remote teaching during the pandemic (inexperienced group). Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework, a self-report questionnaire was administered to 196 teachers (nexperienced = 127; ninexperienced = 69). Our findings showed no difference between the two groups of teachers in terms of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, LMS self-efficacy and satisfaction. However, the experienced group had higher behavioural intention to use LMS in the future, reported receiving higher online teaching support and displayed higher online teaching self-efficacy in terms of student engagement, classroom management, instructional strategies and ICT skills. For the experienced group, the most significant predictor of satisfaction with LMS was performance expectancy whereas for the inexperienced group, it was the effort expectancy. In terms of behavioural intention to use LMS in the future, the most significant predictor was the performance expectancy for both groups. Further, support was also a significant predictor of behavioural intention for the inexperienced group. Overall, our findings indicate that teachers should not be regarded as a unified profile when managing technology adoption in schools.