Comparison between student teachers' and classroom teachers' computer usage intentions and self-reported computer usage

The purpose of this study was to investigate student teachers' and experienced classroom teachers' computer usage beliefs, intentions, and self-reported computer usage in the classroom. This study consisted of a convenience sample of 160 student teachers and 158 experienced teachers from classes within a large urban university.; A mixed methodology approach was used for data collection purposes. All participants completed a Computer Usage Intention Survey. This survey was developed using a theoretical framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Furthermore, after completion of the Computer Usage Intentions Survey purposeful sampling of the study's participants was selected for semi-structured interviews. This sample consisted of a total of 19 participants, ten student teachers and nine experienced classroom teachers. The interview questionnaires were developed using a theoretical framework of the decomposed theory of planned behavior.; Results indicated that student and classroom teachers' perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of computer integration predicted their computer usage intentions. Furthermore, these beliefs and intentions did significantly predict self-reported computer usage in both student and classroom teachers.; Results also showed that after completing a student teaching practicum, students had greater intentions to integrate computer applications into their subject-specific lessons and perceived this integration to be easier than originally thought. Both student and classroom teachers had positive beliefs and intentions to integrate computer applications into their subject-specific lessons, with no overall statistically significant differences between the two groups.; There were no statistically significant differences between the student and experienced teachers for the amount of computer usage within a three month period. Although student and experienced teachers used Internet and Word processing much more than other types of software (i.e., database, spreadsheet, multimedia/presentation), there were significant differences between some types of software used by the two teacher groups. Experienced classroom teachers used spreadsheets, subject-specific software and educational software (e.g., drill and practice, games, simulations, research searches, etc.) more often than did student teachers.