Culture and Context in the Mandated Implementation of Digital Textbooks in Florida and South Korea

Abstract

Digital textbooks are becoming increasingly popular in schools throughout the world. Simultaneous mandates to adopt digital textbooks in the country of South Korea and the U.S. state of Florida provide an opportunity to study how culture and context might impact this implementation from the perspective of the school librarian who serves multiple roles when new technology is introduced. In this study the Concerns-Based-Adoption-Model (CBAM) was used to identify the concerns of school librarians in Florida about their potential role in the implementation of digital textbooks and how personal levels of adoption relate to these concerns. Results indicate that innovators and early adopters have higher levels of concern, which are more substantive and practical, while late majorities and laggards have more vague uneasiness and lurking anxiety. Regardless of the speed they adopt innovations, school librarians have similar levels of personal concern.