Factors affecting the adoption of instructional use of computers in undergraduate Textiles, Clothing, and Merchandising programs

The purpose in this descriptive-correlational study was to determine the relationship of variables to the adoption of instructional use of computers in undergraduate Textiles, Clothing, and Merchandising (TC&M) programs in the United States. Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM) was used to test the relationship between department heads' stages of concerns about computer use and the levels of instructional use of computers in undergraduate TC&M programs.; The entire population of department heads in TC&M programs employed at the time the survey was conducted was included in the study. A return rate of 67% was obtained (147 of 219).; Most undergraduate TC&M programs required students to take computer literacy courses and the instructional use of computers had increased during the last few years. More computers were used for instruction in fashion design and merchandising than in general textiles and clothing major. IBM or IBM compatible computers were the most widely used hardware and wordprocessing, database, and spreadsheets were the most frequently used software. The use of CAD software is increasing among undergraduate TC&M programs.; Department heads perceived the availability of hardware and software as the most important factors leading to adopting computers for instruction and were aware of the need to keep up-to-date with technological developments in business and industry. The stages of department heads' concerns about computer use were positively related to the levels of computer use for instruction in undergraduate TC&M programs.; Factors affecting the adoption of computers in undergraduate TC&M programs were determined using Polychotomous Stepwise Logistic Regression. When the program had more assistant professors, was administered as a department, and had used computers in instruction for longer years, TC&M programs were highly likely to be involved with higher levels of computer use for instruction. The presence of male instructors over 60 years old in the programs reduced the chance of having higher levels of instructional use of computers in the programs.; Undergraduate TC&M programs need more updated hardware and software, more computer applications in merchandising, and increased CAD instruction on a regular basis.