Understanding Teachers' Beliefs, Professional Dispositions, Orientation towards Technology and Technology Use in South African Secondary Schools: A Longitudinal Micro-, Meso- and Meta-Theory Perspective

Abstract

Background: Those advocating for technology integration within education claim that teachers need to reform their pedagogic practices to make learning more engaging and relevant. Within South Africa, not only is incorporating technology seen as a way to better equip learners, but technology integration is also being promoted as a way to address issues around quality of education, shortage of teachers, and current inequalities between private and public schools in the country. Notwithstanding large investments in technology resources by the South African government, it appears as if many technology initiatives have failed to address the current issues. In addition, while technology played a pivotal role in supporting remote and hybrid educational approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, within South Africa the move to greater use of technology was fraught with multiple challenges. While educational technology researchers claim teachers are primarily responsible for these failures, it seems as if teachers do not embrace technology unquestionably, even in well-resourced schools, and thus more balanced research aimed at understanding the critical role teachers play in the complex process of technology integration is needed. Objective: To develop a theoretically-based understanding of teachers’ technology use within different social and educational contexts by exploring the relationship between technology infrastructure, teachers’ beliefs, professional dispositions, and orientation towards technology. Methods: Literature on external (ES) and internal barriers and beliefs (IB), Hoadley and Ensor’s conception of Professional Disposition (PD), prominent educational technology theories on Orientation towards Technology (OTT), and Bernstein’s view of Context (C), alongside Stones’ Strong Structuration Theory (SST) were utilised to construct the theoretical framework for this study, Teachers’ Technology Use - Strong Structuration Theory (TTU-SST). Using an interpretivist paradigm with a qualitative case study research approach, a set of three interviews were conducted at four South African secondary schools with vastly different social contexts, over different conjunctures i.e., combination of events over a period of time. Micro and meso analyses were conducted using within-case and cross-case directed-content analysis; while a meta-theory perspective was provided by examining teachers’ technology use regarding Stones’ notion of the duality of structure modelled in the quadripartite nature of structuration by External Structures (ES), Internal Structures (IS), Agents’ Practices (AP), and Outcomes (O). Micro and Meso Findings: Findings suggest that teachers’ incorporation of technology into their pedagogic practice is a complex process. Firstly, while the provision of technology (ES) is essential, it does not seem to guarantee integration as use varies even amongst teachers within technology-rich schools. Secondly, teachers with more positive Internal Beliefs (IB) of technology seem to focus less on External Structures (ES) barriers and utilise technology in more varied ways as well as to enhance and transform their pedagogic practices. Thirdly, contrary to much educational technology research, teachers’ Professional Dispositions (PD) exist on a continuum and do not appear to be the sole influence on teachers’ Orientation towards Technology (OTT). Lastly, the Context (C) alongside the school’s technology policy and related External Structures (ES) seems to influence teachers Internal Beliefs (IB) and resulting Orientation towards Technology (OTT). Meta-Theory Perspective: Firstly, findings indicate technology use is not only determined by the objective characteristics of the structures (ES) with which teachers interact, but also by the subjective nature of the teachers themselves (IS) and the Context (C) in which they teach. Secondly, the duality of structure is evident as teachers’ actions (AP) appear to either reproduce, modify or transform External Structures (ES), while concurrently a shift in External Structures (ES) and Context (C) modifies and transforms teachers’ Internal Structures (IS). Thirdly, it seems as if External Structures (ES) cannot be classified as either independent causal influences over which there is no control, or irresistible causal influences with some degree of control, as degrees of control shift in response to the surrounding Context (C). Similarly, the dimensions of structuration teachers draw on do not appear static. Contribution: This research provides a balanced, theoretically-based understanding of the external and internal structures and complex relationships influencing teachers’ technology choices, whilst considering different school and educational contexts over a period of time. Furthermore, the meta-theory perspective demonstrates the ability of the theoretical framework developed for this study, TTU-SST, to serve as a guide for future empirical work focused on understanding teachers’ technology use.