Research Article
Zhansaya Bakytbekova, Mary F. Rice, Esad Esgin, Guldina Kamalova, Shirinkyz Shekerbekova
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 18, Issue 2, Article No: ep654
ABSTRACT
Information and communication technologies (ICT) play an increasingly important role in modern education, shaping how teachers access information, design instruction, and support student learning. Understanding the factors that influence ICT engagement among teachers is therefore critical for effective technology integration. This study explored the relationships between demographic factors, technology ownership, and teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, usage, and attitudes toward ICT in educational settings. The study involved 160 university students from Almaty, Kazakhstan, who completed a comprehensive survey assessing their ICT device ownership, knowledge, usage frequency, and attitudes toward ICT. Mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of beliefs in the relationship between attitudes and ICT usage. The findings revealed significant correlations between ICT knowledge, attitudes, and usage. Although beliefs about ICT partially mediated the relationship between attitudes and usage, attitudes had a substantial direct effect on ICT usage. Gender and grade level did not show significant differences in ICT engagement. The findings suggest that fostering positive attitudes towards ICT among teachers is crucial for enhancing its integration in educational settings. These findings provide practical views about teacher education and policy by highlighting the importance of increasing positive attitudes toward ICT to support more effective and meaningful integration of technology in educational settings
Keywords: ICT in education, digital divide, ICT knowledge, technology integration, belief mediation
Research Article
Tsedevsuren Danzan, Uyanga Sambuu, Myagmargarmaa Chuluunbat, Turbat Avkhinsukh, Erkhbayar Sandag
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 3, Article No: ep586
ABSTRACT
Information and communication technology (ICT) can be effectively used in education and training to improve the quality of classroom learning, to encourage student creativity, to expand student collaboration and to introduce innovation to education rather than as a tool for delivering learning content. This document aims to determine and evaluate the ICT readiness of teachers at secondary education schools in Mongolia. One thousand nine hundred seventeen teachers from more than 150 secondary schools participated in the survey. This study aimed to evaluate five skills of teachers: (1) the assessment of teachers’ ICT application competence, (2) the review of ICT competencies in teaching and learning, (3) the duration of ICT usage in lessons, (4) classroom setup, and (5) the use of ICT to support the learning of children with disabilities. An online survey was conducted using the UNESCO ICT readiness survey questionnaire. In this questionnaire, subject matters such as the teacher’s general information; the use of ICT in education; the school’s ICT infrastructure; ICT at the level of education policy; teachers’ ICT skills; ICT used in teaching-learning; organization and management; and teachers’ professional skills were included. A total of 1,917 teachers attended the survey, about 7% of the total number of secondary school teachers in Mongolia. Of these, 32 percent (608 teachers) were aimag center schools, 0. 2 percent (5 teachers) were teachers, 42 percent (809 teachers) were the capital city and 26 percent (495 teachers) were soum teachers. The research shows that secondary school teachers are ready to use ICT daily. Teachers are interested in improving their technology, ICT-related pedagogical knowledge, and skills to effectively use ICT and digital technologies in their teaching and learning activities. Therefore, acquiring the knowledge and skills to implement ICT in the curriculum in teacher training and teacher professional development programs is necessary.
Keywords: information and communication technology, ICT readiness, use of ICT in training, ICT knowledge and skills of teachers, Mongolia
Research Article
Partick D. Kihoza, Irina Zlotnikova, Joseph Kizito Bada, Khamisi Kalegele
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 60-84
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to describe instances of pedagogical practices of teachers using ICTs and the enhancements of practices using traditional methods, to more fundamental changes in their approach to teaching. Using a mixed method, the research examined the impact of increased education level on the ICT use competence perception and the influence of ICT knowledge level and skills on the adoption of blended learning contents. Four schools were used for this study; two picked out of 50 that are enhanced with ICT infrastructures while the other two were picked from schools without enough ICT infrastructures. Three research questions guided the study. Data collection included teachers, schools inspection officers, curriculum development experts, teacher trainees and policy makers’ interviews, questionnaires, classroom observations, and document reviews. Data analysis concentrated on the central questions of the study. The results suggested that teachers’ education level couldn’t determine their ICT knowledge level. Either, the ICT knowledge level has influences on the decision to use blended learning. Barriers to ICT use in education were revealed as: internal -more of personal attitudes and perceptions about a technology, and external -lack of availability and accessibility to the relevant resources (hardware and software), lack of framework that address integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and unreliable Internet connection. Resulting from the results, this study suggests a goal oriented teacher training framework which should address a complex integration of technology, content, pedagogy, school infrastructures, and the overall objectives of the education systems as trivial of ICT use determining factors.
Keywords: Blended learning, Teachers’ ICT knowledge, Teachers’ ICT use, Teachers’ ICT competence, ICT in education