Abstract
Abstract Despite substantial investment in the Teacher Mate 1 (TM1) laptop initiative by Ghana Government, there remains limited empirical evidence on how pre-tertiary teachers’ psychological dispositions and contextual realities interact to shape their readiness for and adoption of the technology in resource-constrained educational settings. This study examined the determinants of pre-tertiary teachers’ readiness for and adoption of the TM1 laptop, focusing on personal dispositions, psychological barriers, contextual factors, and demographic characteristics. The study drew on the Technology Readiness Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model to gather data from participants 144 pre-tertiary in-service teachers. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA, and structural equation modelling were used. Teachers reported generally positive attitudes, high optimism, and strong self-assessed knowledge and skills despite limited ICT infrastructure. Professional development needs were high, and exposure to technology-related professional development emerged as the only significant demographic predictor of readiness and adoption. Structural equation modelling showed that optimism, comfort with technology-mediated interaction, and perceived security were the strongest predictors, accounting for 44% of the variance in adoption. ICT facilities had no direct effect once psychological and dispositional factors were considered. This study contributes to the literature by providing an integrated empirical model that foregrounds the primacy of psychological dispositions and professional development over infrastructural provision in explaining technology adoption among teachers in resource-constrained contexts.