Beliefs about digital technologies and teachers’ acceptance of an educational app for preschoolers

Abstract Preschool teachers' varying beliefs about the utility of digital technologies may affect their acceptance of educational tablet apps for classroom use. We tested this hypothesis via a two-stage study in which we first assessed 214 French ecole maternelle teachers' beliefs about digital technologies. Stage two of the study measured acceptance of an educational tablet app by a sub-sample of 62 teachers who had agreed to use the app in their classrooms. The main result of this study is that the social background of a school is an important factor to consider when studying teachers' beliefs and acceptance of technologies. Teachers who teach in schools with educational and social difficulties are less convinced by digital technologies’ benefits for students. Their acceptance of our app is also lower than the other teachers.