Integrating Information Technology in Precollege Education in Kuwait: Teachers’ Perspectives on a Botched Initiative

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: This study collects empirical evidence to investigate the extent to which high school teachers adopted the tablet computer in their instruction within the context of the Tablet Project in Kuwait and explores what drove their adoption behavior. Background: The role of information technology in education is prominent and takes different forms depending on the purpose of information technology adoption and the adopted information technology systems. To utilize emerging technology in education in Kuwait, the government launched an initiative to integrate the tablet computer into high school education during the 2015–2016 academic year. Three years later, some evidence doubting the project’s value had had been circulated, which motivated undertaking a thorough investigation to assess the project’s effectiveness, particularly from the teachers’ perspectives and its influential factors. Methodology: We adapted an expanded Technology Acceptance Model to assess the extent of high school teachers’ use of the system in their teaching practice and to examine the effects of teaching efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness on that use behavior. To test the research hypotheses, a data set was collected from 206 teachers and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Contribution: Our empirically derived results confirm the scanty information that was in circulation at the time of this study and that claimed that the Tablet Project was not progressing sufficiently or achieving its objectives. These results could guide future efforts aimed at effectively integrating information technology into high school education in Kuwait and at enhancing the ongoing online education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also advise that effective integration of information technology into teaching and learning mandates a comprehensive redesign and digitization of the targeted educational system. Findings: Although teachers report minimal use of the system in teaching, teaching efficacy emerges as the strongest determinant of that use behavior, followed by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The fitted model also has satisfactory explanatory power as it explains 43% of the variance in use behavior. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results of this study suggest that, in the public schools of Kuwait, teaching efficacy is a more important determinant of the use behavior of information technology in teaching than perceived ease of use or perceived usefulness. In addition, it is difficult to adopt information technology into teaching where there is inadequate awareness of the role of technology in e-learning, a lack of content modules fit for information technology-assisted teaching, poor Internet connections, a lack of technical support, and a lack of adequate professional and technical training. Recommendation for Researchers: This study offers significant empirical results from the Arabian milieu on the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model in elucidating public high school teachers’ adoption of the tablet computer in teaching practice. Our results also enhance the growing global body of knowledge on the integration of hedonic systems as well as their individual and contextual determinants in education, in general, and in teaching practice, in particular. Furthermore, teaching efficacy is an important determinant of teachers’ adoption of information technology in teaching. Impact on Society: Information technology augments traditional, face-to-face teaching and learning in societies by incorporating rich, online learning experiences and creating a motivating and efficient learning environment. Yet, the value of information technology-enabled education depends significantly on the successful integration of the systems into the educational process, and the results of this study could serve as a foundation for policies and plans aimed at successfully integrating information technology into the educational systems in Kuwait and similar societies. Future Research: The results and limitations of this study suggest several future research topics. Future research should explore the extent of students’ adoption of the tablet computer in learning activities and its important determinants to gain a better understanding of the Kuwaiti Tablet Project initiative. In addition, future research should employ other research methods (e.g., qualitative analysis), use samples from private schools’ teachers, and incorporate and test other possible determinants of teachers’ adoption of information technology in teaching to verify the validity and generalizability of the reported results.

Factors Impacting Teachers’ Continued IT Adoption in Pre-College Education

“…Blended learning also offers teachers the potential to adopt IT to augment their instructions and refocus their content, target group, context, and ethical facets (AlQenaei et al, 2021); explore new modes of education, and consider effective methods to educate students (O'Byrne & Pytash, 2015); and experience more flexibility in both course design and course delivery methods (Gerbic, 2011;Olapiriyakul & Scher, 2006;Van Doorn & Van Doorn, 2014). It also enables teachers to manipulate time, space, and place to improve teaching and learning (Harrell & Wendt, 2019); create opportunities for enhancing active and student-centered learning (Di Marco et al, 2017;Leinonen et al, 2014); collaborate and share information (Falloon & Khoo, 2014); and effectively assess students' learning and feedback (Denison et al, 2016).…”

“…Yet, IT integration in education varies depending on IT adoption objectives and IT system types. This integration ranges from merely assisting face-to-face teaching to providing blended (or hybrid) learning modes, to enabling exclusive online learning services (AlQenaei et al, 2021;Auster, 2016;O'Byrne & Pytash, 2015). However, the successful implementation of initiatives to integrate IT into education depends primarily on the crucial roles of multiple participants, including teachers, students, and administrators.…”

“…Nevertheless, teachers' adoption, or continuous adoption, of IT in instruction is contingent on multiple factors, including the individual characteristics of participants, the chosen IT systems, the supporting technical and organizational structure, the education program characteristics, and culture (Alenezi, 2018;AlQenaei et al, 2021;Hew & Brush, 2007;Nguyen et al, 2015;Polly et al, 2010). In addition, teachers' adoption of IT hinges on their technological self-efficacy, beliefs, and attitudes (Al-Awidi & Aldhafeeri, 2017;Alenezi, 2018).…”

“…Tablets were intended to be used for all core subjects in high school. To supplement face-to-face learning with out-of-class learning, the government provided teachers and students with access to tablet PCs equipped with various applications and offered easy access to varied digital content (AlQenaei et al, 2021). Three years later, however, information emerged implying that the Tablet Project was not advancing as expected (Al-Awidi & Aldhafeeri, 2017).…”

“…To bridge this research gap, we carried out an investigation to evaluate: (1) the extent of high school teachers' adoption behavior of the tablet PC in teaching, and (2) the extent of these teachers' BI to continue using the tablet PC in their future teaching. The results pertinent to teachers' adoption of the tablet PC in teaching and its influential factors were described in AlQenaei et al (2021). This paper reports the results that are pertinent to teachers' BI to continue using the tablet PC in teaching and its predictors.…”