Technology integration levels and related beliefs of Mathematics Teacher Educators in Chile

Abstract

Digital technology integration is a fundamental component of Mathematics Initial Teacher Education. Mathematics Teacher Educators (MTEs) are responsible for providing future teachers with equitable and high-quality technology experiences, given their pervasive role. Technology-related Beliefs of MTEs may influence the frequency and quality of these experiences, although we still lack enough understanding about this influence. To understand the relationship between levels of technology integration reported by Chilean MTEs and their technology-related beliefs, we distributed an online questionnaire to 450 MTEs, obtaining 85 complete responses. We analyzed the data utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM). Results suggest that beliefs explain 49% of MTE’s reported levels of technology integration, where “time-consuming” and “multiple representations” beliefs show the strongest link to MTEs´ levels of technology integration. These findings confirm that beliefs are a highly determining factor for MTEs’ technology integration, are coherent with the local incipient integration of technology, and signal digital technology uses rooted in the mathematical domain. These local findings can also contribute to the broader international context.