Exploring the influence of technostress creators on in‐service teachers' attitudes toward ICT and ICT adoption intentions
Authors: Wang Qiong , Zhao Guoqing 
Published: March 2023

Technostress is an undesired consequence of information and communication technology (ICT) use and might negatively affect teachers. However, there is a lack of empirical research exploring the influences of technostress creators on teachers' ICT use. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the structural relationship among five technostress creators (ie, techno‐complexity, techno‐overload, techno‐invasion, techno‐insecurity, and techno‐uncertainty), teachers' attitudes toward ICT, and their ICT adoption intentions. The research model was developed based on existing literature and tested using structural equation modelling. Data were collected from 289 teachers from six public elementary and secondary schools in China. The results indicate that: (a) teachers' attitude toward ICT has a significant positive effect on their ICT adoption intentions; (b) techno‐insecurity and techno‐complexity have significant negative effects on teachers' attitude toward ICT and ICT adoption intentions, respectively; (c) techno‐invasion and techno‐overload have significant positive effects on teachers' attitude toward ICT and their ICT adoption intentions, respectively; (d) techno‐uncertainty has a significant positive effect on both teachers' attitude toward ICT and their ICT adoption intentions; (e) compared to younger teachers, the attitude of teachers aged 45 and above toward ICT are more negatively affected by techno‐insecurity. Implications for the management of technostress creators are discussed.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Technostress negatively influences teachers' acceptance and adoption intention of ICT.

The influences of specific technostress creators may differ.

There is a lack of empirical research exploring the exact influences of technostress creators on teachers' ICT use.

What the paper adds

Techno‐insecurity and techno‐complexity negatively affect teachers' attitudes toward ICT and ICT adoption intentions, respectively.

Techno‐invasion and techno‐overload positively affect teachers' attitudes toward ICT and their ICT adoption intentions, respectively.

Techno‐uncertainty significantly positively affects teachers' attitudes toward ICT and ICT adoption intentions.

The attitude of teachers aged 45 and above toward ICT is more negatively affected by techno‐insecurity.

Implications for practice and/or policy

Schools should provide adequate end‐user training, a friendly technical help desk, and teacher‐oriented psychological counselling programs concerning technostress to mitigate teachers' techno‐complexity and techno‐insecurity.

School administrators should take measures, such as providing timely upgrades and continuous maintenance services, to ensure the reliability and accessibility of technologies.

It is necessary for school ICT support staff to guide teachers, especially teachers aged 45 and above, to take positive coping strategies, such as venting, seeking social support and engaging in technical training, to deal with techno‐insecurity.