Ninety-eight student teachers enrolled in an introductory computer course were simultaneously administered four computer attitude scales. The responses were used to compare the reliability, dimensionality and construct validity of the four scales. All were found to give a reliable measure of general attitudes toward computers and their use. The scales primarily evaluated three attitude dimensions: Computer Anxiety, Computer Liking and Social and Educational Impact of Computers. One scale, the Computer Use Questionnaire, sampled only the last of these three dimensions and seems to be particularly appropriate for evaluating attitudes related to the impact of computers. Another, the Computer Attitude Scale, sampled only the first two of these dimensions making it a particularly appropriate choice to measure the attitudes of computer-novices. The other two, the Computer Survey and the Attitudes Toward Computers, sampled all three dimensions.

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The pretest/posttest study measured the computer-related attitudes of grade eight and grade eleven students, the correlates of these attitudes, and the gains in these attitudes. The attitudes were measured along six dimensions: Anxiety, Confidence, Liking, Interest, Gender Equity, and Acceptance. The results of the study indicate that the computer-related attitudes of secondary students are positive, stable and resistant to change. Gender differences among these attitudes were found to be school dependent and to diminish as students mature except in the case of Gender Equity where gender differences were minimal at the grade eight level but very pronounced at the grade eleven level. Unstructured computer experiences and word processing experience accounted for the greatest variance of all attitude dimensions. Tests indicated that gains in attitudes were independent of gender, computer training and computer course achievement.

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