The Role of Teachers’ Interest and Self-Efficacy in Implementing Technological Topics in Primary Education

Abstract

The increasing societal pervasiveness of technology demands a solid foundation of technological literacy in primary education. In Germany, technological education is institutionally embedded within Sachunterricht, a multi-perspective subject unique to the German-speaking context (GDSU, 2013). Despite its curricular importance, empirical evidence indicates that technological topics remain significantly underrepresented in classroom practice, accounting for only 10.5% of instructional time (Möller et al., 1996; Steffensky et al., 2024). While structural explanations have been discussed (Möller et al., 1996), teacher-related dispositions – specifically individual interest and self-efficacy beliefs – require a systematic re-examination under contemporary conditions.

Building on the TeBiS study (Möller et al., 1996), this paper reports results from the third pilot phase of an extended replication (N=16) with pre-service teachers during their practical semester. The study differentiates rigorously between individual interest (Krapp, 1992), self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997), and implementation behaviour. Results indicate a slightly below-average individual interest (M= 2.39) and moderately pronounced but highly heterogeneous self-efficacy expectations (M= 2.69). Correlational analyses reveal a non-significant negative relationship between interest and implementation (r= – 0.33) and a weak positive relationship for self-efficacy (r= 0.16). Contrary to linear assumptions, the pilot data suggest that individual dispositions alone do not sufficiently explain implementation behaviour. These findings underline the necessity of modelling implementation as a multi-level phenomenon that integrates macro- (policy), meso- (school context), and micro-level (teacher) factors. Due to the small sample size, conclusions remain exploratory and primarily serve instrument refinement for the main study in 2026.