Academic Staff's Attitudes Towards a Curriculum Mapping Tool.

Curriculum mapping is a method in which teachers record the operational curriculum to be used for ongoing curriculum review and development. Therefore, schools aim to establish a fluid system for maintaining and updating the curriculum. As teachers are the main practitioners of curriculum mapping, this study aimed to investigate the factors that impact teachers' attitudes towards an online curriculum mapping tool. In this study we employedthe Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine the attitudes of the academic staff in a private school in Dubai towards the use of a curriculum mapping tool and whether the staff role impacted their perceptions. Also, we examined the factors that impact perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the curriculum mapping tool. The external factor considered as a determinant of perceived usefulness is relevance, which is studied in terms of long-term planning, short-term planning, curriculum alignment, teachers' collaboration, and students' achievement. The factors considered as determinants of perceived usefulness are training and time. The results indicated that the staff did not have significant positive attitudes towards the tool. Also, while perceived ease of use and actual usage were significantly high, perceived usefulness was significantly low. The results also showed that there were no differences in perceptions according to the staff role except for perceived usefulness, which was significantly higher for leaders compared to teachers. Results also indicated that perceived short-term planning and teacher collaboration were good predictors of perceived usefulness, while perceived training and time were good predictors of perceived ease of use. The results reflect a shallow understanding of the theory that underlies the use of the curriculum mapping tool. School leaders should dedicate time and resources to extend communication about the purpose of curriculum mapping and how the mapping tool can help the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]