WHAT ENDORSES TEACHERS TO USE GAMIFIED APPROACHES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS: SELF-EFFICACY TECHNOLOGY PROFICIENCY, AND PERCEIVED USEFULNESS

Gamified approaches in the classroom gained more consideration in the recent years. Although the benefits of evolving technologies integrated in the teaching process are better recognized for the student population, what enhances the adoption of such technologies from the teachers` perspective is less investigated. The present study investigated the associations between self-efficacy, teachers’ technology proficiency, perceived usefulness of gamification and behavioral intention to use gamification among 170 teachers, aged between 18 to 64 years old (M = 34.9; SD = 9.69), with a teaching experience ranging from almost one year to 44 years of experience (M = 8.71; SD = 9.62). Correlation analyses showed that there are associations between teachers’ self-efficacy, teachers’ technology proficiency, and perceived usefulness of gamification levels and behavioral intention to use gamification. Furthermore, the mediation analyses showed that technology proficiency level and perceived usefulness of gamification partially mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and the behavioral intention to use gamification among Romanian k-12 inservice teachers. These results advanced our knowledge about the relationship between self-efficacy and the behavioral intention to use gamification and its underlying mechanisms