Abstract:
Those advocating for technology integration within education claim that teachers
need to reform their pedagogic practices to make learning more engaging and relevant.
While educational technology researchers claim teachers are primarily responsible for
these failures, it seems teachers do not embrace technology unquestionably. This paper
aims to develop an understanding of how teachers’ beliefs and professional dispositions
(PDs) influence technology use within different social and educational contexts. A set of
three interviews were conducted at four South African secondary schools with vastly
different social contexts, over different periods of time (before and during COVID) with
cross-case analyses. Findings show that the provision of technology does not guarantee
integration as use varies amongst teachers within technology-rich schools, with teachers
who hold more positive Internal Beliefs (IBs) of technology not only focusing less on
External Structure (ES) barriers, but also utilising technology in more varied ways, even
to enhance and transform their pedagogic practices. Furthermore, teachers’ PDs seem to
exist on a continuum and do not appear to be the sole influencer of technology use, with
the context alongside the school’s technology policy and related technology structures
influencing teachers’ IBs and resulting technology use. In addition, while mandatory use
of technology during COVID led to more positive IBs as teachers understood the value
of the technology, this only appears to be true if external structures (ESs) supported the
learners as well. Moreover, all teachers expressed their belief that technology is no
replacement for face-to-face teaching. Finally, the rich data from the interviews
underlined the intricacies of factors influencing the use of technology in classrooms,
indicating a need for a meta-theory to gain a holistic understanding of technology use by
teachers.
