| The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) adult students' attitudes toward computers (affective, perceived usefulness, perceived control, and behavioral factors), (b) how individual characteristics (i.e., demographics) and information technology (IT) experience (i.e., computer use patterns, software skill levels, as well as learning interest levels) affect adult students' attitudes toward computers, and (c) how individual computer use patterns affect adult students' average computer skill levels and learning interest levels.; The population for this study was the 382 adult students enrolled in the two-year continuing education programs at a southwestern university in Taiwan in the fall semester of 2004. Three hundred and forty-seven (347) adult students' completed surveys were returned with the response rate of 90.8%. The survey was a four-part questionnaire and the fourth part incorporated an already existing measure: the Computer Attitude Scale (SSCAS) developed by Selwyn-Soh (1997).; The study utilized the descriptive research design. Descriptive statistics, Analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test, Scheffe post hoc multiple comparison, and Pearson correlations were performed for analyzing the responses. A covariance matrix was calculated for the reliability analysis; the alpha value for the SSCAS was 0.90. The internal consistency of the constructs was satisfactory in this study.; The results of those analyses indicated that the majority of adult students (81%) had positive computer attitudes. From the SSCAS, perceived usefulness subscale had the highest mean score of 3.228. There were several significant differences concerning adult students' characteristics, IT experience, and computer attitudes. Skill levels and learning interest levels were proved to be the important predictors of adult students' computer attitudes. Individual computer use patterns need to be taken into account to affect adult students' average computer skill levels and learning interest levels. |
