The Effect of Use of Information and Communication Technologies on Elementary Student Teachers' Perceived Information Literacy Self-Efficacy.

Abstract The aim of this research is to investigate and evaluate elementary student teachers' perceived information literacy self-efficacy in terms of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The relational survey method which determines the relationships between two or more variables was used in the research. The data gathered from 1801 student teachers who are attending at the fourth class of Departments of Computer and Instructional Technologies, Science, English, Elementary Mathematics, Grade, Social Studies, and Turkish Education in the Faculty of Education in Ataturk, Ondokuz Mayis, Marmara, Gazi and Dokuz Eylul universities with using the ICT survey and perceived information literacy self-efficacy scale (ILSES). The use of the ICT survey consists of questions related to student teachers' demographic information and ICT usage. The ILSES consists of question about perceived competencies on searching, using and producing the information. Frequency, arithmetic mean and one way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. For the significant results in p Key Words Information Literacy, Perceived Self-Efficacy, Elementary Student Teachers, Information and Communication Technologies. Rapid changes in information and communication technologies (ICT) have forced individuals of twenty first century to adapt themselves to live in information society. Individuals who live in harmony with the information society, can be characterized as independent and self-regulated learners who have lifelong learning skills (Mori, Shimizu, Ishida & Tominaga, 2003; Tuckman & Sexton, 1990). One of the important bases of lifelong learning can be information literacy. Information literacy, first introduced by Zurkowski in 1974, has been defined as a set of skills for solving information problem according to ALA (American Library Association, 1989). As Toffler (1998) mentioned, 2000s' ignorant people would not be ones who cannot read or write, but ones who learn, forget, and re-learn the same information so information literacy will be the way to cope with the enormous amount of information. Information literacy can offer opportunities for lifelong learning in personal and professional context (Breivik, 1999; Bruce, 1997; Hancock, 1993). There have been some studies on how information literacy skills can be gained in early ages (ALA, 1989; Carr, 1998; Doyle, 1994; TTKB, 2002; TTKB & RTUK, 2007; UNESCO, 2004). These studies focus on helping students gain information literacy skills. Moreover, teachers who have the most important role in this process should be taken into consideration. Kurbanoglu and Akkoyunlu (2007) stated that the importance of information literacy in all levels of formal education has been emphasized for a long time but the integration of information literacy skills in teacher education has been neglected. As Carr (1998) mentioned that information literacy courses should be taught in teacher training to train teachers who can use effective resources and who can help their students to gain information literacy skills (searching for information, using information and synthesizing information etc.). Teacher competencies have been renewed regarding to cover information literacy skills and ICT skills (ALA, 1989; ISTE, 2000; MEB (Ministry of National Education), 2006). In order to use information literacy and ICT skills effectively and efficiently, teachers' self-efficacy should have been developed. …