Ifinedo, E., & Kankaanranta, M. (2021). Understanding the influence of context in technology integration from teacher educators’ perspective. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 30(2), 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2020.1867231
Ifinedo & Kankaanranta (2021) used TPACK to study how different types of context affected the use of ICT by 19 teacher educators at three colleges in southern Nigeria. They found that meso-level barriers (e.g., college policies; facilities; training; technical support) had the greatest impact on ICT integration. National infrastructure; educators’ ICT skills; and students’ ability to get devices were also identified as barriers. However, participants believed that ICT could increase motivation; visualization; and engagement.
This study was unique in that it went beyond identifying “what a teacher knows” using TPACK. Focus groups were conducted at each of the three colleges which provided detailed descriptions. Organizing the data into micro, meso, and macro levels made it easy to understand. Also, the researchers paid attention to group interaction such as body language and tone which provided additional information. But with only a small number of participants from one area, the transferability of the study is limited. Furthermore, interview data cannot determine whether technology is being used in classrooms or its effect on student learning.
This article resonates with me because my manufacturing experience taught me that training is dependent upon workplace conditions; i.e., operators require equipment, time, and supervisor support. This article also relates to my research interest areas of AI and online learning for families and professionals working with young children who have special needs. This article will help me remember to think about how access, user skills, institutional support, and local context affect a technology’s value. This framework can help me develop questions that I want to ask for future research in my own setting.
Leave a Reply