An Empirical Study on the Factors Influencing Primary School Teachers' Acceptance towards STEM Teaching

Abstract

Based on the UTAUT technology acceptance model, this research used a sample group of 606 teachers from primary schools in Shaanxi and Jiangxi provinces and analyzed influencing factors of STEM teaching acceptance by using the Mplus structural equation model. The result shows that four independent variables have a significantly positive impact on the teachers' acceptance of STEM teaching, and their degrees of influence can be ranked from the top to the bottom: Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Effort Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions. Meanwhile, regulatory variables such as Education Background, Teaching Age and Discipline, also influence the acceptance of STEM teaching by impacting the independent variables respectively. That is: (1) Teaching Age influences Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions and Performance Expectancy;(2) Education Background impacts Social Influence and Performance Expectancy;(3) Discipline has an effect on Social Influence, Effort Expectancy and Performance Expectancy. Therefore, we put forward the following strategies to boost the teachers' acceptance of K-12 STEM teaching: To enhance performance expectancy, strengthen value recognition, promote effort expectancy and improve teaching support services.