Background: Business teacher educators prepare business teachers and workers to be successful in today's constantly changing technological environment. Therefore, business teacher educators must meet the challenge to be prepared technologically to educate their students for the workforce. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine…

Using Bandura's four sources of influence on self-efficacy, 210 students rated their computer self-efficacy. Mastery experiences were most influential for white males; vicarious learning had the most influence for females and nonwhite students. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Human resources executives (83 responses from 380) strongly recommended 11 and recommended 46 end-user skills for business graduates. Core skills included use of keyboard, mouse, microcomputer, and printer; Windows; Excel; and telecommunications functions (electronic mail, Internet, local area networks, downloading). Knowing one application of…

Analysis of 23,704 want ads for computer-related jobs revealed that the most frequently mentioned skills were UNIX, SQL programming, and computer security. Curriculum implications were derived from the most desired and less frequently mentioned skills. (SK)

Responses to an Illinois survey by 19 human resource managers and 26 university and 71 community college information systems instructors rated the importance of workplace and technology skills for entry-level information services and support personnel. Both groups ranked nontechnical/soft skills and information technology certification as…

Responses from Canadian personnel managers (265 women, 148 men) indicated that women spent more time using computers; both men and women used information technologies (fax, voice mail, modem, scanner, copiers, etc.) extensively; and women used computers more often than men for word-processing tasks. (SK)

Freshmen in a microcomputer class (n=33) used cooperative learning and watched instructor demonstrations; a control group (n=36) worked independently and received verbal instructions. Previous computer experience influenced achievement. A combination of cooperative/independent and verbal instruction/demonstration methods was recommended. (SK)

Describes a study that assessed the impact of microcomputer use on the computer literacy of high school accounting students. Results indicated that the computer literacy of the group exposed to microcomputers changed more from pre- to posttest than it did for the group not exposed to microcomputers. (NRJ)

A majority of 166 secondary Louisiana business teachers surveyed felt their skills were inadequate in productivity software and information technology. They rely on self-directed learning and literature for professional development. Inservice training did not seem to improve their skills. (SK)

In 18 beginning computer classes of middle and high school students, 409 pre- and postsemester keyboarding timings were taken. Significant differences in grades were related to developmental phase (those in cognitive or overlap phases had lower grades than those in associative phase--over 25 words per minute). Students showed significant progress…

Present trends indicate a systematic decline in business education enrollments. The status and definition of the field are being debated, and the need to keep up with constant technological change compounds the issue. The field must move beyond a technical skills orientation to produce lifelong learners able to adapt to change. (SK)

Teachers focus on teaching students technology skills, which include making the technology work, but many teachers are not comfortable with the skills of integration and active learning using technology. An important factor for effective integration of technology is the teachers' ability to integrate instructional technology activities to meet…

The impact of computers on society and education will be dependent on the effectiveness of the battle for people's minds. Educators play a key role in motivating and leading students. Computer-oriented business education programs are available that keep the teacher central in the instructional program. (JOW)

This study assessed whether relationships existed between home and school environment variables and computer literacy. Two of the home environment variables investigated appeared to be related to computer literacy. Students who viewed science fiction movies frequently and students whose families had contemplated buying home computers had…

Students believe that they are computer literate. When asked, students perceive themselves as skilled in a variety of computer applications. This research compares students' perceptions with their reality. Students did not perform well on pretests of Microsoft Office, but improved their posttests scores with instruction. The study also examined…