Computer Teachers' Attitudes toward Ethical Use of Computers in Elementary Schools

This descriptive study explores the elementary school computer teachers’ attitudes and awareness regarding ethical computer use in classrooms and the differences in teachers’ attitudes and awareness in terms of demographic variables including gender, teaching experiences, pre-service/in-service education about ethical computer use. In order to measure computer teachers’ attitudes, awareness, and teaching practices regarding computer ethics, an adopted version of Cyberethics Questionnaire (CEQ), originally developed by Yamano (2004), was used in this study. The CEQ was administered to 150 teachers working for elementary schools in Hatay, Turkey. After incomplete and erroneous forms were discarded, a total number of 141 questionnaires completed by 60 female and 81 male computer teachers were considered for analysis. Results show that the opinions of male and female teachers are significantly different. cal debates about ethical and/or moral use of computers. Increased use of technology, for as for Yamano (2004), “by younger children has caused increasing societal concerns about who bears the responsibility of guiding these children in the appropriate use of technology.” Of all the institutions in a society, school is supposed to be the only one that potentially has the answer and solution to that concern. Inappropriate use of technology in education is a recent agenda among educational researchers and researchers of ethics (Adam, 2001; Akbulut, Uysal, Odabasi, & Kuzu, 2008; Baek, Jung, & Kim, DOI: 10.4018/ijcee.2011040102 16 International Journal of Cyber Ethics in Education, 1(2), 15-24, April-June 2011 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 2008; Bennett, 2005; Beycioglu, 2009; Johnson & Simpson, 2005; Namlu & Odabaşı, 2007; Prosser & Ward, 2000; Riley, 2004). Following section intends to identify what computer ethics means.