Exploring the Influence of Vicarious Experiences in Teaching with Digital Technology on Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Digitalization-Related Affective-Motivational Dispositions

The integration of digital media in German classrooms remains limited, partly due to teachers’ low motivation, self-efficacy, and negative attitudes toward these tools. This study investigates how vicarious experiences influence pre-service teachers’ digital media self-efficacy and attitudes toward digital media and how these dispositions influence their motivational orientation toward using digital media in teaching. Beyond this, personal experiences were implemented via an ecologically valid intervention, and their influence on the respective constructs was examined. This study employed a longitudinal design involving 43 pre-service science teachers over an internship semester, combining a theoretical workshop at the university with lesson planning, implementation, and reflection. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention and analyzed using Bayesian Path Analysis to examine the relationships between the constructs. T-tests were applied to investigate the impact of structured mastery experiences. The results imply that vicarious experiences influence attitudes but have no significant influence on self-efficacy. Motivational orientation is primarily influenced by attitudes but not by self-efficacy and has a positive effect on the frequency of media use. Self-efficacy, on the other hand, was most strongly influenced by mastery experiences, whereas attitudes received the least support in this regard.