Methods
Participants
Surveys for this study were sent to middle and high school teachers,
support personnel, and administrative staff. Of the 164 surveys administered,
120 participants returned completed surveys, making a 73% survey response
rate. Teachers and administrative staff varied in teaching and computer
technology experience. A convenience
sample from a middle and high school located in an inner-city district
in middle Georgia was chosen to participate in this study.
Instrumentation
The completed questionnaire had 14 Likert-type items and one open-ended
response question that was designed to capture participants’ knowledge
about the use and perceptions regarding Internet filtering in a school
setting. The first three questions captured data about participants’
expertise, experience, and gender. Question 4 determined Internet usage
and was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=never, 2=monthly, 3=weekly,
4=several times a week, and 5=daily). Question 5 allowed participants
to mark unlimited responses that pertained to the tasks they performed
on the Internet. Questions 6 -14 used a semi-structured format that
employed Yes or No questions regarding filtering and its effects. Question
15 allowed participants to respond if they desired Internet access in
schools. Since the survey was conducted during a planned school meeting,
participants were provided verbal instructions. A pilot test was conducted
prior to the survey among teachers from varied disciplines who were
in a graduate student technology-based course.
Procedures
A copy of the Internet filter
survey was provided to the author’s professor of educational research
who reviewed the survey for content validity. Afterwards, middle school
and high school principals at the selected schools were asked if their
schools would participate in an Internet filter survey. To reduce participant
bias, no school was provided with a copy of the survey or results until
the research was completed. Upon approval, a copy of the instrument
and a cover letter were sent to the County Board of Education for approval.
After the Board granted permission, the survey was conducted at each
site during an informal meeting that was arranged by each school principal.
Although the survey did not indicate certain fields of teaching such
as language arts, the researcher instructed participants to add this
to their surveys if their field of expertise was not included.
The main threats to this survey were the possibilities of a low response
rate and participant untruthfulness. To reduce these threats, surveys
were distributed and collected at one time. At the meeting, I introduced
myself as a graduate student and remained at the meeting the entire
time to collect completed surveys. Participants were assured that they
could be candid in their responses because the surveys would remain
anonymous. No names were collected with any of the data.
Results
and Discussion
The purpose
of this study was to identify beliefs and perceptions about Internet
filtering, and its effects on teachers, support, and administrative
staff in a middle school and high school setting. One hundred and twenty
participants completed the survey. A cross tabulation of the results
between middle and high school respondents revealed no significant differences
were found regarding Internet use, perceptions, and beliefs about Internet
filtering (see Table 2). Table 1 indicates the frequency of accessing
the Internet. Table 2 indicates perception and activities regarding
Internet use. Nearly all respondents agreed that technology support
was available (N=118), but 117 respondents felt legitimate sites had
been blocked. Although user agreements were in place, results indicated
that some felt students were not always punished for downloading offensive
material. Some admitted they used techniques to get around the filter
or block to complete their tasks. Table 3 indicates the number of respondents
and activities they conducted on the Internet. A majority of the respondents
reported e-mail as a critical function.
A Chi Square
test was used to find out if there were differences in opinions among
middle and high school teachers. All P values were more than .05 (Table
2). Although no significant differences were found among middle and
high school respondents who participated in the survey, (see Table 2)
the survey yielded unplanned results. While the survey focused on Internet
filtering, most respondents to the open-ended question felt that the
system imposed in this school system went beyond filtering. Filtering
is used to eliminate certain types of information, but staff felt the
revised Internet policy served more as a ban on Internet access. Support
staff, including counselors, had restricted Internet access. Teachers
who used the Internet to develop lesson plans had to show how the web
sites would be used to support their lessons, and had to seek approval
to access the Internet. Sites had to be bookmarked for students’
use, and teachers were responsible for monitoring student access. Comments
frequently cited the “filtering” system as a block that:
hampered their duties, created an inconvenience, reduced student autonomy,
lowered morale, and decreased the likelihood they would create lessons
integrating technology. The following comments were offered by those
who felt it hampered duties:
Some
sites are blocked that I need for classroom enrichment, but I'm glad
the porno sites are blocked.
It is a disadvantage for students and teachers who make positive
learning experiences from use of the Internet.
Yumuk (2002)
indicated that the Internet encourages learning and contributes towards
a healthy self-awareness that allows students to perceive teachers as
facilitators in the learning process. Rather than institute restrictive
measures such as a ban on Internet access, many wanted the Board to
reach a compromise that restored teacher controls and contributed towards
student autonomy. Comments often demonstrated that respondents felt
filtering posed an inconvenience:
I go
home…able to….access everything; students can’t
access material that goes with the book.
Some teachers felt that student independence was reduced:
I am limited
as a teacher with the filter software. My students cannot research
or discover knowledge on their own. I must spoon feed them everything.
Shofield and
Davidson (2002) revealed similar results that suggested student learning
increases when students participate in the learning process. Students
gain new knowledge while they build upon their present knowledge and
are able to try out their own procedures for solving problems, pursue
their personal interests, and make a contribution in the classroom.
Respondents noted the apparent effect the Internet policy had on morale,
and the likelihood that teachers might continue to integrate Internet
use in the classroom:
The "blanket
ban" on all sites is professionally insulting and academically
outrageous.
If a county trusts us to educate its children, it needs to trust
us to monitor students and use the Internet wisely.
These statements
are consistent with similar results reported in Schofield and Davidson
(2002) in which teachers did not want students to access sexual content
from school and frequently instituted safeguard measures to control
student behavior directly. Some teachers, however, felt that the current
Internet policy would influence whether they would design lessons that
would incorporate Internet technology into the classroom. The following
comments demonstrate these views:
It is
easier not to incorporate technology rather than go through the long
tedious process of doing the research myself first.
I think teachers should be trusted ….. rather than blocking
the Internet in their room. Sometimes teachers need access in their
classroom.
As Mehlinger
(1996) reported, technology is a part of the culture from which it arises
and impacts the culture that created it. Similar studies show that while
teachers and other staff do not want students to access pornography
and acknowledge that the software effectively eliminates pornography,
it also blocks legitimate sites. This was confirmed in this study; nearly
all the respondents indicated that legitimate sites were blocked. Though
filters are necessary, the Kaiser Family Foundation study (2003) found
that filters can effectively block pornography without significantly
impeding access to online health information only if they are not set
at the most restrictive levels. This study’s results indicated
that a blanket ban may be inconsistent with academic related tasks,
creativity among students, student autonomy, and teacher morale. The
results indicated that the school system policy may significantly impede
the learning process and job related duties among its staff members,
including teachers. When teachers do not feel they can be trusted, their
creativity is reduced. When teachers and staff have to go outside of
their main work area to access a particular web site, then the quality
of their work may decrease. The Child Online Protection Act (1998) passed
by Congress established that educators, schools, and libraries protect
children from inappropriate online content. However, it did not suggest
that a total ban to Internet access was necessary to protect the nation’s
children.
