Investigation of the relationship between English teachers' professional self-efficacy, attitudes towards the use of technology in education and technopedagogical competence

The aim of this study is to examine the professional self-efficacy levels, attitudes towards the use of technology in education and technopedagogical competence levels of English teachers working in Aydın province and Efeler district in terms of various variables and to determine whether there is a significant relationship among them. The sample group of the research consists of 308 English teachers working at different levels in Aydın province and Efeler district in the 2022-2023 academic year and whose easily accessible situation was determined by a sample. Personal Information Form, English Teachers' Self-Efficacy Perception Scale, Attitude Scale towards the Use of Technology in Education and Technopedagogical Education (T-PACK) Competencies Scale were used as data collection tools of this study, which was designed with the quantitative method using the relational survey model. In the analysis of the data collected for the scope of the research, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis H test, Spearman correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis were used for correlation calculation, since the median values and scales for descriptive statistics did not show normal distribution. The results obtained from the study showed that when the total score of the self-efficacy perception of English teachers, and the first and second sub-dimension scores were examined, there was no significant difference between them according to gender, workplace , seniority, educational status and age range, while it was determined that the teachers working in private schools received higher scores according to the school type variable. In terms of their professional self-efficacy, there is a significant difference in the sub-dimensions of the participants' Material Use and Method Selection and Professional Development for the Appropriate Educational Environment according to the workplace variable. It was determined that primary school teachers scored higher in terms of material use for a suitable educational environment. In terms of method selection and professional development, primary school between primary and secondary school; Between middle school and high school, it was observed that high school scored highly. When the total scores and sub-dimensions of the attitude scale towards technology use were examined, there was no significant difference in all variables except the place of duty. It has been revealed that teachers whose place of duty is primary school only in the dimension of self-development get higher scores than secondary school teachers. When the total score of the technopedagogical educational competencies (TPACK) scale and the scores obtained in four dimensions as design, application, ethics and specialization were examined, differences depending on the type of school were revealed. It was observed that the technopedagogical competencies of the teachers working in private schools were higher in all four dimensions. In addition, between the professional self-efficacy levels of English teachers and their attitudes towards the use of technology; Statistically significant, moderately positive relationships were found between self-efficacy levels and technopedagogical attitudes, and between technological attitudes sub-dimensions and technopedagogical educational competencies. Another important result of the study was that the attitudes of English teachers towards technology and their technopedagogical competencies contributed to their professional self-efficacy levels by 46%, together with the variable of place of duty. With the knowledge that the importance of technology is increasing day by day, suggestions have been made arguing the importance and necessity of teachers to practice their profession with this equipment.