Date of Award
Summer 7-25-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D. in ITEC Advanced Track (Technology Leadership)
Department
Bagwell College of Education - School of Instructional Technology & Innovation
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Tiffany Roman
Second Advisor
Dr. Yi Jin
Third Advisor
Dr. Laurie Dias
Abstract
One-to-one programs are being implemented in schools and districts to improve and increase students’ learning opportunities. This qualitative case study aimed to examine high school English teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and contextual uses of one-to-one technology devices in a unique context after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study consists of a single case study in a large South Georgia district that is a combination of rural, urban, suburban, and island communities. This research study was guided by Brianza et al.’s (2022) extension of the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge framework, XTPACK, and was informed by a social constructivist approach. Qualitative data from seven teacher participants within the district were collected through individual interviews, observations, and instructional document analysis. Data were analyzed using a two-phase procedural analysis process that included initial coding and a second coding cycle to categorize the codes and develop themes guided by the contextualized knowledge constructs of XTPACK.
The findings of this study found that the teacher participants’ knowledge, perceptions, and use of technology were influenced by the educational context of this research study. The findings indicate that participants were knowledgeable and comfortable with integrating technology but had mixed perceptions about integrating technology into their instructional practices due to concerns about student engagement, cheating and plagiarism, and equitable access to technology. The participants integrated technology tools and resources into their instructional strategies in a variety of ways, but technology was only consistently used by all participants for lower levels of thinking to independently practice reading and writing skills. Implications for practice include continuing to improve teachers’ planning and implementation of technology into their instructional practices, and leaders should be supportive of these efforts by providing effective professional development opportunities. Implications for research include contextually situating the findings in the XTPACK framework by examining how teachers’ contextualized technology-related knowledge (XTK), contextualized content-related knowledge (XCK), and the contextualized pedagogy-related knowledge (XPK) interact within a unique context. To further this research, the study recommends conducting similar studies that expand the participant populations and are conducted over a longer timeframe. Recommendations for educational practice include improving professional development opportunities, modifying the implementation of the one-to-one program, and providing digital literacy courses for students.