A Study On The Impact Of Pre-service English Teachers' Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge Self-efficacy

Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge(TPACK)framework has been widely used for investigating technology integration in teaching and education field.Research on pre-service teachers' perceived capability in teaching with technology is currently receiving an increasing amount of attention.This study has continued that focus by investigating the impact of teaching practicum on pre-service English teachers' TPACK self-efficacy development.Firstly,the status quo of pre-service English teachers' TPACK self-efficacy was examined before and after the teaching practicum.It then aimed to investigate whether there were any changes,including the scope and extent of the changes,in their TPACK self-efficacy after the teaching practicum.This study also endeavored to identify factors leading to the changes in their TPACK self-efficacy.A mixed approach has underpinned this study to get a comprehensive picture.Triangulated methods,including questionnaires,intensive interview and content analysis of teaching portfolios,were adopted for guaranteeing the reliability and validity of the results.55 participants engaged in a two-month teaching practicum in an elementary school,junior schools or high schools,completing pre-test questionnaires before the teaching practicum and post-test questionnaires after the teaching practicum.10 participants from 10 different practicum schools were purposively selected to conduct intensive interview.Their teaching portfolios were also collected as evidence to analyze their intention and behaviors in teaching with technology.In summary,data from the triangulated methods in this study was used to answer the following three research questions:(1)What are pre-service English teachers' TPACK self-efficacies before and after the teaching practicum?(2)Are there any changes in pre-service English teachers' TPACK self-efficacy after the teaching practicum?If yes,what are they?(3)What are the factors leading to such changes in pre-service English teachers'TPACK self-efficacy?Findings from descriptive data analysis in this study revealed that pre-service English teachers' general TPACK self-efficacy was in the confident level both before and after the teaching practicum and positively developed through teaching practicum.Specifically.before the teaching practicum,pre-service English teachers' self-efficacies in Technological Knowledge(TK),Content Knowledge(CK),Pedagogical Content Knowledge(PCK)and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge(TPCK)were in the undecided level,only with self-efficacies in Pedagogical Knowledge(PK),Technological Content Knowledge(TCK),Technological Pedagogical Knowledge(TPK),and Context Knowledge(CxK)in the confident level.However,after the teaching practicum,pre-service English teachers'PK,TCK,PCK,TPK,TPCK and CxK were in the confident level,while only TK and CK still remained in the undecided level.In terms of the scope,there were all changes in pre-service English teachers'general TPACK self-efficacy and its sub-dimensions,with the maximum changes of TPCK self-efficacy and the minimum changes of CxK self-efficacy.However,further analysis by Paired-Samples T test found that there were only significant changes in pre-service English teachers' general TPACK self-efficacy and some sub-dimensions,TK self-efficacy,TCK self-efficacy and TPCK self-efficacy.Other dimensions remained insignificantly changed.Multiple interwoven factors have been identified to account for the changes.In details,practicum schools,as external teaching contexts with different administrative supports,technology affordances,teachers' pedagogical belief and even students'perceptions on technology,could profoundly influence pre-service English teachers'acclimatization and intention in teaching with technology.At the micro level,factors related to mastery experience(learning technology by design and enactments of technology-enhanced lessons)and vicarious experience(modeling by mentor teachers)were two main personal sources.Also,positive social persuasion(feedback and encouragements from teacher educators,mentor teachers and peers)and physiological status(attitude,curiosity,perceived ease of technology use or technostress),to some extent,affected pre-service English teachers' subsequent teaching behaviors.Results of this study contributed to the extended application of TPACK framework to the practical context,the great impact of teaching practicum on the development of TPACK self-efficacy and the practical strategies for enhancing pre-service teachers'self-efficacy in technology integration.In the same vein,practical suggestions for pedagogy and future research,and limitations of this study were also provided.