Research Papers
RESEARCH PAPERS FACTORS AFFECTING PARTICIPATION OF PRESERVICE TEACHERS IN E-DEMOCRACY By SERKAN ŞENDAĞ * SACIP TOKER ** * Associate Professor, Computer Education and Instructional Technology, School of Education, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey. ** Ph.D holder, Instructional Technology, Department of Administrative and Organizational Studies, College of Education, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA. ABSTRACT This study aimed to reveal the factors associated with the participation of preservice teachers in e-democracy. It was designed as a correlational study and 1,519 preservice teachers from a teacher preparation program in Turkey participated in it by completing a 54-item questionnaire. As a result, three major factors for involvement in e-democracy emerged: knowledge and environment, ethics, and anxiety. In addition, two types of participation were revealed: anonymous and onymous. The results of the study showed that anonymous participation correlates positively with Political Knowledge, and negatively with Current State of Politics and Digital Integrity. Those who have mobile technologies with internet connection are more likely to participate anonymously in e-democracy. On the other hand, Onymous participation, correlates positively with Fear of Self-expression, and negatively with Political Knowledge and Digital Citizenship. Males were shown to be more prone to both types of participation than females. Internet usage frequency was a common variable triggering both types of participation. The paper ends with recommendations for further research. Keywords: E-Democracy, E-Participation, Preservice Teachers, Explanatory Higher-Order Factor Analysis, Multiple and Quantile Regression. INTRODUCTION be supported by the Internet, which will alter representation Now-a-days, several factors are urging higher education as well as politicians’ attitudes toward the public (Cardoso, institutions to change, such as internalization, massification, Cunha & Nascimento, 2006).
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