Using e-portfolios in a field experience placement: Examining student-teachers' attitudes towards learning in relationship to personal value, control and responsibility

Abstract

This study extends the ownership of learning model by using e-portfolios in a field experience placement to examine student-teachers' attitudes towards learning in relationship to personal value, feeling in control and taking responsibility. A research model is presented based on research into ownership of learning. The student e-portfolio ownership of learning questionnaire (SEOLQ) was developed. Seventy-seven participants completed the survey measuring their responses to ownership of learning components of attitudes towards learning (ATL), personal value (PV), feeling in control (FIC), and taking responsibility (TR). Data were used to test the hypotheses postulating the main effects of ATL using e-portfolio on the constructs PV, FIC, and TR. The results of the study indicated that ATL had a significant influence on PV, FIC and TR. The results suggest the student-teachers valued the integration of the e-portfolio into the field experience and developed a sense of control of their learning. Responsibility-related findings suggest that participants were sensitive to both the means of manipulating the e-portfolio and the results of their efforts doing so. By providing student-teachers with the opportunity to reflect critically upon their work as educators, e-portfolios can serve as an invaluable resource for promoting effective ownership of learning.