Barriers to the Effective Use of Technology Integration in Social Studies Education

• Published in: Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education 2019, Vol.19 (4)
• Main Authors: Tarman, Bulent, Kilinc, Emin, Aydin, Hasan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to Computers; Barriers; Faculty Development; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Internet; Social Studies; Teacher Attitudes; Technology Integration; Technology Uses in Education
• ISSN: 1528-5804; 1528-5804

Information and communication technology has been accepted as a powerful tool that transforms education. The emergence of new and innovative uses of technology provides new approaches to social studies teaching. Many governments have invested vast amounts of money to enhance schools with technology and provide them with Internet access to encourage teachers to use these new approaches. However, numerous barriers still need to be considered carefully when technology is used for teaching and learning purposes. This study investigates the views of Turkish social studies teachers about barriers for technology integration into the teaching-learning process. The authors applied a quantitative survey model and administered a 34-item survey to 171 social studies teachers in Turkey. The findings indicated that the most highly identified barriers were mainly external obstacles, such as a lack of technology, restricted Internet access, and a lack of administrative and technical support. Moreover, findings showed no statistical difference between female and male teachers' perceived barriers, while they found a statistically significant difference between teachers who attended technology-related professional development and those who did not.