Differential Analysis of Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Abilities According to Teaching Stages and Educational Levels

Abstract

The development of educational informatization imposes new requirements on the cultivation of teachers' digital competence, which appeals to teachers who aim to optimize their teaching by integrating appropriate Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The requirement of digital competence corresponds to the meaning of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Therefore, the development of teachers' TPACK abilities can also positively influence the cultivation of their digital competence. The study was to examine the level of teachers' TPACK abilities, and whether any difference in such abilities would be found according to the different teaching stages and teachers' educational levels. An online questionnaire was distributed to the target teachers. Data of 1342 participants were analyzed. SPSS was used to conduct the descriptive statistics, and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test with the post-hoc pairwise comparisons was used to determine teachers' TPACK ability levels and explore the differences in teachers' TPACK according to their different teaching stages and educational levels. The results indicated that teachers' TPACK abilities were at a generally high level. Moreover, significant differences in teachers' TPACK abilities were found in the teaching stages and educational levels. Teachers with different teaching stages have significant differences in Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). However, no difference was found between Technological Knowledge (TK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). In addition, the results suggested that the seven sub-dimensions of TPACK differed significantly according to teachers' educational levels, where the higher the educational level, the better the teachers' TPACK abilities. Therefore, teachers should effectively integrate technology and apply appropriate pedagogies according to the teaching content in different teaching stages. A planned and targeted series of ICT application training courses for teachers with lower educational levels would be helpful to improve their self-confidence in using technology to promote their teaching effectiveness.