Levels of ethical use of information technologies in education by secondary school teachers

Today's rapid advancement in technology has expanded the use of information technologies in education, further increasing the importance of ethical use in educational environments. The mandatory use of online education, particularly during the pandemic, has brought numerous ethical issues, such as the protection of personal data, ensuring privacy, respecting copyright, and fair access to information, to the forefront of the education agenda. In this context, determining teachers' level of ethical use of information technologies is considered crucial both for serving as role models for students and for establishing ethical foundations for the use of information technologies. The purpose of this research is to determine the level of ethical use of information technologies in education among secondary school teachers and to examine whether these levels vary according to various demographic variables. The research was conducted using a survey model, a quantitative research method, and the study population consisted of teachers working in public secondary schools in the central district of Aksaray province during the 2023–2024 academic year. As part of the study, data was collected from 181 teachers using the "Ethical Use of Information Technologies in Education (EBTEK)" scale developed by Baysan and Çetin (2019). According to the research findings, teachers' ethical use of information technologies was generally found to be high. Furthermore, no significant differences were found based on demographic variables such as gender, age, years of service, educational background, and school type. It was concluded that teachers adhered to ethical principles in educational settings and that their level of ethical use of information technologies was high. In line with the findings, it is recommended that applied ethics training be expanded, institutional support mechanisms be strengthened, and ethical guidelines for new technology be created in order to maintain and improve the ethical level.