Web pedagogical content knowledge, attitude towards web-based instruction, usage of information searching-commitment strategies in web environment as predictors of lifelong learning tendency

Lifelong learning (LLL) has gained an important place in the agendas of national and international organizations and the education policies of countries with globalization and digitalization in education. Even though there is a large body of research regarding lifelong learning tendency, web pedagogical content knowledge, attitude towards web-based instruction, and usage of information searching-commitment strategies in the web environment of teachers and prospective teachers, there is not a study on the correlation between them and their effect on lifelong learning tendency. This study aims to analyze the effect of web pedagogical content knowledge, attitude towards web-based instruction, and usage of information searching-commitment strategies in a web environment on lifelong learning tendency and their explaining ratio. For this aim, eight hypotheses were developed and four scales were used to collect data: Web pedagogical content knowledge, attitude towards web-based instruction, usage of information searching-commitment strategies in a web environment, and lifelong learning tendency. 346 prospective teachers participated in the research. A relational descriptive model was used and exploratory factor analyses of scales were done via SPSS 24.0 software. For the confirmatory factor analyses of scales and the structural equation modeling, AMOS 24.0 software was put to use. The most remarkable finding is that web pedagogical content knowledge, attitude towards web-based instruction, and usage of information searching-commitment strategies in a web environment are important predictors of prospective teachers' lifelong learning tendencies.