Factors influencing elementary school teachers’ ICT instruction

This study investigates teacher-related factors that influence teachers’ use of ICT in Korean schools. The study employed the multilevel modeling to analyze survey data. The sample consisted of 661 Korean teachers from 31 elementary schools. To identify the factors influencing Korean teachers’ use of technology in practice a survey was developed which included two levels of factors: teacher level(individual background and attitudinal background) and school level(socio-organizational factors). The results show that years of teaching experience, professional development, and attitudinal factors(attitude toward computer in education, innovativeness, technology competence) were significant, and school level factors(pressure to use technology, school support, administrator’s support) have a significant impact on teachers’ use of technology in practice. It indicates that teachers’ use of technology in practice is affected by multi-dimensional characteristics of schools, including teachers’ individual background, attitudinal factors, and socio-organizational factors. The use of third party websites by teachers emerges as a substantial issue in the area of teachers’ technology integration. Korea has a centralized educational system which mandates that teachers use technology in the classroom, which appears to increase teachers’ use of third-party websites, particularly experienced teachers. In addition, this study recommends that mandated changes included in ICT policy may result in superficial classroom modifications. For substantial teaching changes, on-going professional development is required to improve the quality of technology integration.