From technology acceptance to teacher agency: early childhood teachers’ digital pedagogical decision-making in the UK and China

This article examines early childhood educators’ digital pedagogical decision-making in the UK and China. A bilingual online survey generated an analytical dataset of 151 educators (UK n = 74; China n = 77). The survey measured perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitude toward use (ATU) and behavioural intention (BI), with four optional open-ended questions. PU, PEOU and ATU significantly predicted BI in the complete-case model, with ATU the strongest overall predictor. Chinese educators reported higher PU and BI, although sensitivity analysis showed that the PU difference was small and dependent on how teaching experience was modelled. The BI difference and the stronger PEOU-BI relationship in China remained after accounting for unequal experience profiles. Reflexive thematic analysis of 97 educators’ open responses identified shared emphases on pedagogical value, training, resources and classroom manageability, alongside greater UK attention to play, inclusion and cautious use and greater Chinese attention to structured use and implementation. Integrating TAM with an ecological account of teacher agency, the article argues that acceptance measures are best interpreted as situated professional judgements. It concludes with differentiated implications for pedagogical professional learning, infrastructure and policy guidance.