The case of middle and high school chemistry teachers implementing technology: using the concerns-based adoption model to assess change processes

An ongoing process of reforming chemical education in middle and high schools in our country introduced the technology-enhanced learning environment (TELE) to chemistry classes. Teachers are encouraged to integrate technology into pedagogical practices in meaningful ways to promote 21st century skills; however, this effort is often hindered by teacher concerns and resistance to change. We applied the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to examine whether and how it could be used to identify chemistry teachers’ concerns, and to characterize the process of change they experience when integrating TELE. An analysis of two kinds of participants, one of high school chemistry teachers and the other of middle school chemistry teachers, helped us to obtain an in-depth understanding of the way these teachers adopted the innovation. Results revealed that after ten years of implementation, the concerns of high school teachers remained multi-focal, and the impact and personal concerns increased and were predominant. Examining three case studies of middle school teachers showed that one teacher remained in the early stages of concerns during one year of implementation, while the other two exhibited a process of change, moving forward to advances stages of concerns. Our study can shed light on how CBAM might serve as a diagnostic tool for differentiating between teachers with different qualifications, experiences, and concerns in diverse teaching situations in middle school and high school. Such diagnosis can help stakeholders in the education system to develop specific interventions and activities for different groups of teachers based on specific concerns while implementing TELE.