Instructional Technology Competencies Perceived as Needed by Vocational Teachers In Ohio And Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the perception of the knowledge, importance, and educational needs of instructional technology for vocational and careertechnical education teachers and draw comparisons between Ohio and Taiwan. The objectives of this study were to determine: (a) the demographic characteristics of vocational teachers such as age, gender, highest degree earned, instructional technology experience, and specialty, (b) the perceived knowledge and importance of instructional technology competencies for vocational teachers in Ohio and Taiwan, (c) the perceived need for further education in instructional technology by vocational teachers in Ohio and Taiwan, and (d) the relationships among the demographic characteristics of vocational teachers and their instructional technology education needs. The population was all vocational education teachers working at 44 comprehensive high schools and six Joint Vocational Schools (JVS) in the Central Region of Ohio and 22 vocational high schools in Kaohsiung district, Taiwan, during 2001-02 academic years. The Borich needs assessment model was adapted to determine the need of instructional technology knowledge and skills for vocational teachers and the instrument consisted of two parts: (a) demographic data, and (b) a Likert-type scale, to measure the perceived importance and knowledge of instructional technology for teachers. A questionnaire was designed to gather information about vocational teachers’ school and program characteristics and their perceptions of the instructional technology importance and knowledge in their program. The questionnaire was developed with two parallel versions – English version for Ohio and Mandarin version for Taiwan.