An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the conditions and motivations that influence teachers to adopt innovations. Design/methodology/approach – Using Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and Self-Determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2017), data from two s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lindsey Devers Basileo, Merewyn Elizabeth Lyons
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Quality Education for All
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QEA-10-2023-0009/full/pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832542838939713536
author Lindsey Devers Basileo
Merewyn Elizabeth Lyons
author_facet Lindsey Devers Basileo
Merewyn Elizabeth Lyons
author_sort Lindsey Devers Basileo
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the conditions and motivations that influence teachers to adopt innovations. Design/methodology/approach – Using Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and Self-Determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2017), data from two surveys (n = 568; n = 108) and qualitative follow-up interviews of Early Adopter teachers (n = 16) were triangulated to discern relationships among their identification as Early Adopters, satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (BPN) and their implementation of an educational innovation. Findings – Early Adopters had a positive and statistically significant relationship with the implementation of the innovation. Satisfaction of teachers’ BPN had the largest impact on innovation. Research limitations/implications – The findings are preliminary and based on a small sample size of teachers. Reliability of the measure of BPN was not as high as the standard, but it did have the largest impact on implementation. Additional studies should explore the connections among Early Adopter teacher motivation, leadership and the satisfaction of their BPN. Practical implications – School leaders should leverage the influence of Early Adopters to support innovation, and they should provide additional time, training and resources to supports teachers’ BPN. Originality/value – This study examines how to identify and support Early Adopter teachers as enablers of change within schools. We know of no other studies that have used both Diffusion of Innovation theory and Self-Determination theory to understand the motivations of Early Adopter teachers.
format Article
id doaj-art-9cb11cf05eaa4475b968f471159392c7
institution Kabale University
issn 2976-9310
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Emerald Publishing
record_format Article
series Quality Education for All
spelling doaj-art-9cb11cf05eaa4475b968f471159392c72025-02-03T14:29:31ZengEmerald PublishingQuality Education for All2976-93102024-12-011115817910.1108/QEA-10-2023-0009An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovationsLindsey Devers Basileo0Merewyn Elizabeth Lyons1Applied Research Center, Instructional Empowerment, Blairsville, Pennsylvania, USAApplied Research Center, Instructional Empowerment, Blairsville, Pennsylvania, USAPurpose – The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the conditions and motivations that influence teachers to adopt innovations. Design/methodology/approach – Using Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and Self-Determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2017), data from two surveys (n = 568; n = 108) and qualitative follow-up interviews of Early Adopter teachers (n = 16) were triangulated to discern relationships among their identification as Early Adopters, satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (BPN) and their implementation of an educational innovation. Findings – Early Adopters had a positive and statistically significant relationship with the implementation of the innovation. Satisfaction of teachers’ BPN had the largest impact on innovation. Research limitations/implications – The findings are preliminary and based on a small sample size of teachers. Reliability of the measure of BPN was not as high as the standard, but it did have the largest impact on implementation. Additional studies should explore the connections among Early Adopter teacher motivation, leadership and the satisfaction of their BPN. Practical implications – School leaders should leverage the influence of Early Adopters to support innovation, and they should provide additional time, training and resources to supports teachers’ BPN. Originality/value – This study examines how to identify and support Early Adopter teachers as enablers of change within schools. We know of no other studies that have used both Diffusion of Innovation theory and Self-Determination theory to understand the motivations of Early Adopter teachers.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QEA-10-2023-0009/full/pdfSchool leadershipSelf-Determination theoryDiffusion of Innovation theoryTeacher motivationSchool innovationEarly Adopter
spellingShingle Lindsey Devers Basileo
Merewyn Elizabeth Lyons
An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
Quality Education for All
School leadership
Self-Determination theory
Diffusion of Innovation theory
Teacher motivation
School innovation
Early Adopter
title An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
title_full An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
title_fullStr An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
title_full_unstemmed An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
title_short An exploratory analysis of Early Adopters in education innovations
title_sort exploratory analysis of early adopters in education innovations
topic School leadership
Self-Determination theory
Diffusion of Innovation theory
Teacher motivation
School innovation
Early Adopter
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QEA-10-2023-0009/full/pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT lindseydeversbasileo anexploratoryanalysisofearlyadoptersineducationinnovations
AT merewynelizabethlyons anexploratoryanalysisofearlyadoptersineducationinnovations
AT lindseydeversbasileo exploratoryanalysisofearlyadoptersineducationinnovations
AT merewynelizabethlyons exploratoryanalysisofearlyadoptersineducationinnovations