Educational technology acceptance across cultures: a validation of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology in the context of Turkish national culture

The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT; Venkatesh et al., 2003, 2012) proposes a major model of educational technology acceptance (ETA) which has been yet validated only in few languages and cultures. Therefore, this study aims at extending the applicability of UTAUT to Turkish culture. Based on acceptance and cultural data from a large sample (N = 1723) of Turkish educational technology users of diverse profession, geographical location, age and gender, the UTAUT questionnaire displays good convergent and discriminant validity. Structural equations modeling confirms the model validity. Cross-cultural differences are explored within Turkey both between regions (Istanbul area vs. other regions) and between professional cultures (STEM, i.e. science, mathematics, engineering and mathematics, vs. non-STEM professions). The comparison uses measurement results from other European countries as a reference. Conclusions are drawn with respect to UTAUT applicability in educational practice, and to interconnections between ETA and culture.