FACTORS INFLUENCING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' CONFIDENCE IN TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Purpose - Pre-service teachers, who are practising teachers are exposed to numerous technical skills at university. Studies on the use of technology on pre-service teachers' self-confidence are still in their infancy, despite the abundance of studies addressing pre-service teachers' intention to utilise technology in online learning. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate pre-service teachers' use of technology and their confidence in handling online classes effectively.Methodology - A survey was conducted on 93 teachers at two randomly selected universities in Malaysia during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020) through online data collection. A five-point Likert scale-adapted questionnaire on pre -service teachers' perceptions of technology use, effort, and confidence was administered to the respondents. The questionnaire was validated by three experts and data were analysed empirically using structural equation modelling-partial least-squares analysis.Findings - According to the study's findings, pre-service teachers held that technology was a great tool for online instruction and that peer contact helped them broaden their understanding about teaching. Despite this, there was no significant correlation between the use of technology and pre-service teachers' self-confidence. Nevertheless, the effort factor was found to mediate between pre-service teachers' confidence and technology.Significance - The results of this study provide important findings; that pre-service teachers could train their minds to put forth specific effort, such as increasing their interpersonal experience to support and enhance their online teaching. This in turn could help pre-service teachers in preparing to embark on technology-related activities to enable them to work with students more frequently and to support and enhance online education.