Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Ronald Paige

Abstract

Many teachers in the United States, despite access to and demonstrated benefits of instructional technology, are reluctant to integrate these innovations into their teaching. Although public schools spend millions to supply the technology to improve instruction and student academic achievement, teachers often choose not to adopt it. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand better how and why many teachers are reluctant to integrate instructional technology in their classrooms. Guided by cultural historical activity theory, the study occurred in two phases. First, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model Stages of Concern Questionnaire was used to identify a sample of 10 teacher participants and then the Levels of Use Interview Protocol was used to collect qualitative data. Key themes were identified from the data using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the participants valued instructional technology, but user acceptance varied with levels of use. Teachers experienced using the innovation independently more than collaboratively and they perceived the role of schools differently based on personal experience. Understanding teachers’ use of the innovation promotes social change by providing information that can inform future teacher adoption of an innovation and teacher professional development. Results from the study can also inform improved instructional design surrounding the use of the innovation to increase academic achievement.

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