Teachers' perceptions and practices for using technology in primary education

Abstract

Technology is becoming part of everyday life and the obvious or natural way of doing things. Therefore, to sustain this connection, schools are trying to keep up with the changes that are occurring such as providing interactive whiteboards, teachers’ laptops, cell phones and tablets. It is important to view the digital competence both in students and teachers. Teachers need to be confident when using technology in class and need to be able to provide a balance between modernisation and traditional teaching. One must also take note of the teachers’ outlook of digital technology to be able to quantify the use of the same technology in their practice and meaningfully employ it in formal educational settings. One model which portrays a good system of how technology can be implemented within the content and pedagogical practices of the teachers is the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework). Therefore, this study saw how technology is being employed in the classroom and how the teachers plan to use it either by a top-down or bottom-up approach. The researcher also included the use of mobile devices such as laptops and tablets with videos and game-based learning. Finally, from the study, the researcher can better understand the teachers’ perception towards technology employment in primary education.