* Corresponding author. Tel.: #1-801-581-7158. E-mail addresses: niederhauser@gse.utah.edu (D. S. Nieder- hauser), stoddart@cats.us.edu (T. Stoddart). Teaching and Teacher Education 17 (2001) 15}31 Teachers' instructional perspectives and use of educational software Dale S. Niederhauser *, Trish Stoddart University of Utah, 1705 E. Campus Center Drive, Room 127, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA University of California, Santa Cruz, 37 Merrill College, CA 95064, USA Received 17 August 1999; received in revised form 9 February 2000; accepted 28 March 2000 Abstract It has been argued that technology will promote the use of constructivist approaches to teaching and learning advocated by the current reform movement. Yet computer technology, in and of itself, does not embody a single pedagogical orientation. Di!erent types of software can be used to address di!erent educational goals. This article examines relationships between teachers' instructional perspectives and their use of technology in instruction. Findings indicate that views about e!ective computer-based pedagogy are related to the types of software teachers report using with their students. Addressing these perspectives about e!ective instruction is necessary if computers are to reach their educational potential.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Instructional technology; Teacher perspectives; Constructivist approaches; Transmission approaches 1. Introduction For almost 20 years, research has documented the in#uence of teachers' beliefs on their instruc- tional practice (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Fang, 1996; Gomez & Stoddart, 1991; Nettle, 1998; Pajares, 1992; Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, & Lloyd, 1991; Stoddart, 1991; Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1984; Vacc & Bright, 1999; Zeichner, Tabachnick, & Densmore, 1987). These studies demonstrate that personal belief systems exert a powerful in#uence on what teachers learn from reform initiatives and sta! development programs, on their curricular decision-making, and on the instructional practices they use in their classrooms. This research, however, has had little impact on educational reform e!orts (Czerniak & Lumpe, 1996). Policy makers still tend to operate as if educational change is a unidirectional process. They assume teachers will accept and implement curriculum and instructional methods mandated from the top down. This is often not the case. A large body of research has demonstrated that many educational reform initiatives failed because they had little impact on teachers' beliefs or practi- ces (Cohen & Ball, 1990; Elmore, 1987; McLaugh- lin, 1989). Nowhere is this problem more apparent than in the introduction of educational technology into the public schools. Across the United States, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in 0742-051X/00/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 7 4 2 - 0 5 1 X ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 3 6 - 6