O. AVIDOV-UNGAR, N. MAGEN -NAGAR
Copyright © 2012 SciRes.
The path coefficients were examined according to the direct
impact and thereafter according to the indirect impact. The
chart shows that the “teaching seniority” variable does not af-
fect the variables of “level of CL”, “cognitive resistance”,
“emotional resistance”, and “behavioral resistance”. The varia-
ble “school seniority” has a distinct positive, strong impact on
cognitive resistance to using the computerized system (β
= .42***), and on behavioral resistance to using the compute-
rized system (β = .37**), but not significantly on emotional
resistance and on the level of CL. In other words, the more
years the teachers accumulate in school, the greater their resis-
tance to using the computerized system from the cognitive and
the beh avio ral aspect s. The "sch o ol role" variab le h as a d istin ct,
negative impact of moderate strength on the emotional resis-
tance to using the computerized system ((β=-.25 *) but is not
distinct regarding cognitive resistance, behavioral resistance
and the level of CL. In other words, the more teachers fulfill
key roles in school, (as year grade coordinator or subject coor-
dinator) the greater their emotional resistance to using the
computer ized s ystem. The "C L" variable h as a dist inct negati ve,
moderate to strong impact on cognitive resistance to using the
computerized system (β = -.33**), on emotional resistance to
using the LMS (β = -.39**), and on behavioral resistance to
using the computerized system (β = -.28*). In other words, the
greater the teachers' CL, the less their resistance to using the
computerized system from the cognitive, the emotional, and the
behavioral aspects.
Examination of the indirect impact finds that "teaching se-
niority" distinctly, strongly and positively affects "school se-
niority" (β = .49***) and cognitive and behavioral resistance -
β = .42*** and β = -.37 ** respecti vely. However, there is no
indirect impact on the variables “teaching seniority”, “school
seniority”, and “role in school” on the three components of
resistance when the mediating variable is the level of CL.
Discussion and Conclusions
The research findings support the hypotheses. The findings
of the SEM path analysis are innovative, and even expand the
significance of the professional attributes of teaching seniority,
school seniority, role in school, and level of CL relative to the
assimilation of technological change. Until now, these
attributes were considered to be the teachers' background and
personal attributes, each with its unique impact on their readi-
ness to accept change in general (Fullan & Smith, 1999; De
Freitas & Oliver, 2005; Cunningham, 2009; Halverson & Smith,
2010; Selwyn, 2010) and technological change in general (De
Freitas & Oliver, 2005). In the current study these attributes
were analyzed simultaneously along a sequence and found in-
fluences of varying intensity for predicting resistance to change.
The high level of the teacher's CL predicts low resistance to
change, particularly in the personal assimilation of LMS in
school. This finding complements other studies that find that
the teachers' technological knowledge is very important relative
to their attitudes towards technological change with LMS in
school (Ogobonna & Harris 2003; Carter, 2008; Coffman,
2009). Similarly, and as in other studies, greater school senior-
ity was found to predict high resistance to change (Hart, 1987).
The current study finds that a key role in school predicts high
resistance, in contrast to the findings of other studies (Baskin,
2004). The reason for this may stem from the perception of the
essence of the school role, that does not testify necessarily to
involvement and participation in decision-making and
processes of change, but to coordinating a subject from the
administrative, limited and narrow perspective (Avidov-Ungar
& Friedman, 2011).
The research findings further indicate that school seniority,
role in school, and CL predict resistance to change directly, in
contrast to teaching seniority that indirectly predicts resistance
to change. These findings indicate the differences between
types of professional attributes amongst teachers, thus teaching
seniority is a demographic–personal attribute, similar to gender
and edu cation , whi le sch ool sen iorit y, role i n scho ol and CL are
attrib utes that th e teacher “acqu i r es” i n schoo l, where he teach-
es, and they are inherently connected to the organizational cul-
ture (Borko, 2004). Therefore, attributes of this type may di-
rectl y affect res ist an ce to pr ocess es of chan ge in scho o l, as th ey
may also affect resistance to assimilating a computerized sys-
tem for teaching and learning. One may therefore also assume
that resistance to change will be manifested in all the compo-
nents of the attitude – cognitive, emotional and behavioral - and
they are likely to contribute to better understanding of the fu-
ture behavior of the teacher relative to the assimilation of the
computerized LMS. Furthermore, the research conclusions
testify to the fact that CL, school seniority and role in school
are pro fession al at trib ut es that reflect th e organizat io nal cu ltur e,
and their implications for the level of resistance to change are
direct and significant. Accordingly, improvement in school
culture, manifested mainly in nurturing the teachers' profes-
sional attributes, should be seen as a central element in reduc-
ing resis tance to change when assimilating the LMS in school.
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