INVESTIGATING THE DETERMINANTS OF MOBILE COMPUTER ACCEPTANCE BY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Abstract

The development of special education teaching has recently been shifting to highlight the importance of integrating technology to this essential field of education. The integration process, however, requires teachers to “buy in” to facilitate implementation and use of such methods for improving instructional practice. Thus, there is a need to investigate factors that affect special education teachers’ acceptance of using mobile computer devices as an instructional tool. The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants that predict Saudi Arabian special education teachers’ behavioral intention of using mobile computer devices as an instructional tool in their classrooms, as well as whether gender, age, and years of teaching experience had a moderation effect on the relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence on special education teachers’ behavioral intention to use mobile computer devices as an instructional tool in their classrooms. The theoretical framework that guided this study was the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Quantitative data were collected using an online survey that aligned with the UTAUT model. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 208 special education teachers in Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The findings revealed that performance expectancy had a significant relationship with Saudi Arabian special education teachers’ acceptance of teaching with mobile computer devices in their classrooms and was the strongest predictor. In addition, effort expectancy had a significant relationship with Saudi Arabian special education teachers’ acceptance of teaching with mobile computer devices. However, social influence had no significant relationship with Saudi Arabian special education teachers’ acceptance of teaching with mobile computer devices. In addition, age, gender, and teaching experience did not moderate the relationship between the behavioral intentions of special education teachers and performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. Recommendations for future research with different populations and contexts were noted given limited published literature on special education teachers’ acceptance of using mobile computer devices as a teaching tool in the context of Saudi Arabia.