tandfonline.com – Internet and democracy: Is the Internet an important predictor for physical education teacher candidates’ attitudes towards democracy?

Abstract

Today, in the digital age, the Internet usage is common among university students. The Internet is also an important platform for actively participating in democracy. This study explores physical education (PE) candidate teachers’ attitudes toward the Internet and democracy. It also explores whether the Internet is an important predictor for democracy. In adopting the survey design, a total of 455 PE teacher candidates participated in the study. The study used the “Attitude Scale towards Internet Use” and the “Attitude Scale of Democracy” as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation (Pearson) techniques, and multiple regressions analyses. It was found that PE teacher candidates have positive attitudes towards the Internet and democracy. There was a significant positive correlation (p < .05) found between the Internet and democracy. The study also found that the Internet is an important predictor of negative views of democracy.