The attitudes and perceived self-efficacy of Mississippi career and technical educators toward information and communication technology

Research indicates that positive attitudes toward information and communication technology, coupled with a high perceived level of self-efficacy, greatly assist teachers as they strive to integrate technology into their curricula. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the attitudes and perceived levels of self-efficacy as they pertain to information and communication technology (ICT) of career and technical educators at high schools in Mississippi in an effort to better understand one part of the fabric that makes up the educational mosaic in Mississippi.;Participants for this study included career and technical educators teaching in one of three disciplines: (1) Agriculture, (2) Allied Health, or (3) Business and Technology. The instrument used for this study was the Information and Communication Technology Attitude and Self-Efficacy Survey (ICTASES). The researcher collected information pertaining to the educators' attitudes and self-efficacy toward information and communication technology, as well as participant demographics.;The results of the study indicated that the attitudes of Mississippi career and technical educators toward ICT were positive, while their perceived levels self-efficacy toward ICT was high. The educators in each of the three disciplines demonstrated positive attitudes and high perceived levels of self-efficacy toward ICT despite significant differences between the disciplines. Business and Technology educators demonstrated attitudes and perceived levels of self-efficacy toward ICT that were significantly more positive, and higher, respectively, than those educators teaching Agriculture or Allied Health.;Additionally, the study found that the more advanced a degree the educator held, the greater the likelihood that he/she exhibited a more positive attitude and a greater level of perceived self-efficacy toward ICT. Those educators possessing a bachelor or master's degree possessed attitudes and perceived levels of self-efficacy toward ICT that were significantly more than those educators possessing an associate's degree.;Finally, the attitudes of the educators toward ICT were found to be positively correlated with the educators' perceived self-efficacy toward ICT. This result indicates that as the level of self-efficacy of the career and technical educators increases so does the likelihood that the positivity of their attitude will increase.