Teacher-Initiated One-to-One Technology Initiatives: How Teacher Self-Efficacy and Beliefs Help Overcome Barrier Thresholds to Implementation

School districts increasingly implement one-to-one initiatives with the stated goal of reforming education. While an emerging body of research exists that studies the barriers and supports to these top-down attempts at educational change, little research exists that examines the lived experience of teachers who demonstrate a strong sense of self-efficacy and who take action to work toward successful implementation of initiatives. This two-year case study uses phenomenology to explore teacher beliefs when teachers self-initiate a one-to-one program in their classrooms. It frames findings within Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, and Sendurur's (2012 Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., & Sendurur, P. (2012). Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship. Computers & Education, 59, 423–435. [Google Scholar]) suggestion that “barrier thresholds” to technology integration exist that cannot be crossed, despite positive teacher beliefs about technology. The study concludes that effective implementation of one-to-one technology occurs at a confluence of complex factors, that positive teacher beliefs about technology and teacher beliefs about professional agency can help teachers cross the barrier thresholds, and that teacher voice is critical to one-to-one research.