Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to determine workplace informal learning behaviors of Information Technology (IT) teachers: types of activities in which IT teachers engaged in, environmental factors inhibiting their engagements and personal characteristics enhancing their motivation. The study group is composed of IT teachers enrolled in a non-governmental organization. I employed a survey research design. The data were collected from 100 IT teachers via a self-designed a “closed” web-based questionnaire. Teachers were all volunteers. Informal Learning Survey developed by Lohman (2005) was used as data gathering tool. All closed-ended items providing quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Open-ended questions including IT teachers’ views on the other aspects of environmental inhibitors and personal characteristics were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the survey show that the internet search is the most common informal learning activity among IT teachers. The findings also revealed that lack of time as an environmental inhibitor and interest in the professional field as a personal characteristics are the most significant factors that affect informal learning activities.

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