Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of integrating digital games into future teaching

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using digital games for future teaching, with a focus on variables including beliefs, motivation to adopt digital games, self-efficacy of digital game integration, and intention to adopt digital games for future teaching. We examined the changes of pre-service teachers’ perceptions of adopting digital games over time as well as the relationships of beliefs, motivation, self-efficacy, and intention for the adoption of digital games. Participants included pre-service teachers from a university in the northeastern United States. Quantitative data were collected using online pre- and post-surveys. Quantitative approaches (e.g., t-tests, ANOVAs, etc.) were performed to analyze the data. Results indicated that there were significant changes in pre-service teachers’ belief, motivation, self-efficacy, and intention to adopt digital games before and after their participation in a digital game project. Beliefs and motivation were significant predictors of pre-service teachers’ intention for future adoption. Gender, iPad ownership, years of playing digital games, and thoughts of using digital games had an influence on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using digital games in future teaching.