Abstract:

This study examines university teachers’ attitudes towards mobile learning (m-learning) considering the cultural factors in China. Five teachers from different disciplines participated. This study draws on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as the theoretical framework to understand teachers’ perceptions of mobile technology use. Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions were also adopted to investigate whether teachers’ cultural views affect their attitudes towards m-learning. The findings generate interesting but diverse attitudes towards m-learning. Most participants are ‘active learners’ of mobile technology in their daily lives but reluctant users in the classroom. In informal learning, they take a wait-and-see attitude. The study also confirmed that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions could partially explain teachers’ attitudes, especially concerning power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism and collectivism. The study suggests the steepest barrier for such implementation is the lack of technical and pedagogical training for teachers, leading to high anxiety and loss of teaching confidence. Teachers’ attitudes change gradually with sufficient and adequate TPACK training and technology-defined culture, which may create a new culture of learning, combining traditional culture and technology culture.

Keywords:

Teachers' perception and acceptance, mobile teaching, mobile learning, cultural factors.