Competence of Primary School Teachers in the Use of Internet Resources

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the relationships between primary school teachers' competencies and their use of internet resources. In this context, primary school teachers' purposes of using internet resources, the internet resources and platforms they use, participants' teaching efficacy and educational internet use self-efficacy were examined with a relational approach. In the study, 218 primary school teachers working in Almaty province were included in the study by disproportionate cluster sampling method. Internet use questionnaire, teacher efficacy scale and educational internet use self-efficacy scales were used to collect the data. According to the findings of the study, it was seen that a large proportion of primary school teachers use the Internet for 'accessing information, sharing academic information (homework, projects, etc.) and contributing to their personal and professional development. Kazakh teachers used resources such as "academic, research and educational sites", "web browsers (Google, Yandex, etc.)", "dictionary sites", "social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Friendfeed, Google plus, etc.)", "wikis" and "video and photo sharing sites" at high rates. In another finding of the study, it was found that primary school teachers' perceptions of teaching efficacy were at a high level, whereas their perceptions of Internet use self-efficacy were at a medium level. Participants' internet use self-efficacy perceptions show significant differences according to gender and age variables. Finally, significant relationships were found between teacher efficacy and internet use self-efficacy.