EdTech Context Inventory

Abstract

The EdTech Context Inventory, developed by Kohler, Elreda, and Tindle in 2023, is a comprehensive set of ten distinct instruments designed to measure various features of educational technology (edtech) implementation contexts. The development methodology involved an integration of literature reviews, findings from original research, and the professional expertise of key stakeholders. The EdTech Genome Project’s core steering committee was instrumental in identifying the ten specific context features, which are: Vision for Teaching & Learning, Infrastructure & Operations, Selection Processes, Implementation Systems & Processes, Teacher Agency, Strategic Leadership Support, Staff Culture, Teacher Beliefs & Knowledge, Professional Learning, and Competing Priorities. For each of these features, a dedicated expert working group was established to formulate definitions and draft an aligned measurement instrument. These working groups identified the theorized components for each feature, which correspond to the theorized factors of their respective instruments, drawing upon both feature-specific literature and their own professional expertise. This process ensured the face validity of the instruments by actively engaging experts in the composition and review of the definitions and items for each construct. Data for the inventory’s validation were gathered from two separate samples. The subsequent analysis reported on the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the instruments. Among the limitations discussed in the original research, the reliance on self-reporting was noted as a key consideration.

Keywords

Face Validity; Implementation Systems & Processes; Infrastructure & Operations; Selection Processes; Staff Culture; Strategic Leadership Support; Teacher Agency; Teacher Beliefs & Knowledge; Vision for Teaching & Learning; Education Technology Implementation; Educational Measures; Educational Personnel; School Environment; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Characteristics; Teaching Methods; Technology; Human Technology Interaction

Authors

Kohler, Emily A.; Elreda, Lauren Molloy; Tindle, Kate

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Purpose

The instruments that constitute the EdTech Context Inventory serve as valuable tools for generating robust and detailed profiles of a district’s educational technology implementation context. They also have significant practical applications for providing support to educators in their efforts to implement educational technology effectively.

Construct

Education Technology Implementation

Validity

The construct validity of the inventory was examined through correlations between the scales. These correlations were found to vary significantly, ranging from low correlations, such as the 0.32 correlation observed between Selection Processes and Teacher Beliefs & Knowledge, to high correlations, exemplified by the 0.82 correlation between Vision for Teaching & Learning and Strategic Leadership Support.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the scales was assessed using both Cronbach’s Alpha and McDonald’s Omega. The results indicated strong reliability, with values for both metrics consistently above 0.80 across the different scales within the inventory.

Factor Analysis

Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted. The EFAs demonstrated that the instrument items generally loaded onto the number of theorized factors, with most items showing minimal cross-loadings. While the number of factors for each instrument remained relatively consistent with the initial theory, the EFAs did suggest minor adjustments regarding how items should be grouped on factors or to the theorized factors themselves. Further analysis using CFAs within a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework confirmed the presence of between three and six factors for each instrument. The final instruments contain between 8 and 24 items each.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: The inventory is administered electronically. For nine of the ten instruments, all questions are presented on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Educators respond to statements by indicating either their level of agreement (where 1 = Strongly Disagree and 5 = Strongly Agree) or the frequency of an occurrence (where 1 = Never and 5 = Always). The instruments are designed to assess the broader context in which a technology will be implemented, rather than focusing on the implementation of a specific technology. Each of the ten instruments can be used independently.

• Language Available: English

• Population Group: Human; Male; Female

• Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older)

• Population Details: The respondents were educators located in the United States.

• Test Methodology: The development and validation of this instrument involved multiple methodologies, including Test Validity; Construct Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis; and Structural Equation Modeling.

Keywords

Face Validity; Implementation Systems & Processes; Infrastructure & Operations; Selection Processes; Staff Culture; Strategic Leadership Support; Teacher Agency; Teacher Beliefs & Knowledge; Vision for Teaching & Learning; Education Technology Implementation

Authors

• Kohler, Emily A.

  • Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0470-0891

  • Affiliation: University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development

  • Email: [email protected]

• Elreda, Lauren Molloy

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development

  • Email: No data is Available

• Tindle, Kate

  • Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: EdTech Evidence Exchange

  • Email: No data is Available

• Correspondence Address: Kohler, Emily A.: University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Test Year: 2023

• Permissions: To use this instrument, interested parties should contact the corresponding author, Emily A. Kohler.

• Fee: No fee is required to use this instrument.

• Commercial: This instrument is not for commercial use.

Reference’s

Kohler, E. A., Elreda, L. M., & Tindle, K. (2023). EdTech context inventory: Factor analyses for ten instruments to measure edtech implementation context features. Computers & Education, 195, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104709

Items of the EdTech Context Inventory

This measure includes a total of 188 items across the ten instruments. The specific test items are not available in the provided documentation.