Exploring Role-Based Perceptions of Utility in Learning Transfer from a Cybersecurity Professional Development on Educational Technology for K-12 Personnel

The rapid adoption of educational technology (EdTech) in K-12 schools has created a pressing need to equip school personnel with the knowledge and skills to effectively handle cybersecurity challenges. To address this, we developed an “Awareness-Ask-Action” cybersecurity PD on EdTech security and privacy, implemented with fifty K-12 administrators, technology support staff, and teachers. This study focuses on the transfer of learning as a key component for understanding the impact of professional training. By contextualizing the diverse roles of participants and emphasizing the critical role of utility value in learning transfer, the study specifically explores participants’ prospective utility (pre-participation), retrospective utility (post-participation), and their combined effects on learning transfer to the workplace. A mixed-methods approach was employed, using inductive coding on prospective utility, K-means clustering for theme identification on learning transfer, and the Mann–Whitney U test to assess differences in retrospective utility. Findings revealed the interrelationships among these variables and offered insights on effectively designing content that account for role-based differences to promote learning transfer in real-world contexts.