Determinants of Technology for Education, Entrepreneurship, Employment and Economic Developments (TECH4ED) Adoption

Abstract

Three hundred thirteen residents of Barangay Poblacion, Tadian, Mt. Province were surveyed to identify the determinants of adopting Technology for Education, Entrepreneurship. Employment, and Economic Development (Tech4ED) project. This project is a strategy to empower the Filipinos in the countryside through innovative digital inclusion towards sustainable development by creating knowledge hubs to promote digital literacy, open opportunities for the underserved and marginalized towards improved quality of life and a more competitive Philippines. Tech4Ed has 10 target sectors: Out-of-School Youth and Adults; Educators; Students; People with Disabilities; Women; Senior Citizens; Overseas Filipino Workers and their families/relatives; Entrepreneurs; Indigenous People; and Farmers and Fisherfolk. However, of the 113 respondents surveyed in one of the 3,381 Tech4ED centers in the Philippines, only 84 (27%) were familiar with it which then formed part of the study. Premised on the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989), the study determined effects of the external factors (demographic profile, computer self-efficacy, and facilitating conditions (i.e., Internet connectivity, accessibility, information dissemination, and skills training) to the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU); and the influence of PU and PEOU to the behavioral intention of the respondents to use Tech4ED. Using descriptive statistics, results showed that both PU and PEOU influenced the behavioral intention of the respondents to use Tech4ED. Of the 84 respondents, 65 agreed with the statement: "using Tech4ED would improve my job/academic performance" with 10 who strongly agreed or an aggregate of 75 respondents. Majority of the respondents (76/84) also agreed that learning to use Tech4ED would be easy. Both PU and PEOU were influenced by the demographic profile and computer self-efficacy of the respondents. On the contrary, PU and PEOU were not affected by the facilitating condition because the respondents used and still intend to use Tech4ED in the next days despite the problems that they encountered. However, these need to be addressed to encourage more people to use the system. Overall, the study revealed a low utilization rate of the Tech4ED project in Barangay Poblacion.