Exploring the relationship between Saudi teachers' pedagogical use of ICT, their pedagogical ideas and their understanding of ICT affordances

Although Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become widely used in teaching, studies have found that some teachers are resistant to ICT integration.

Teachers’ ideas about the benefits of ICT and their ideas about teaching and learning might affect their response to ICT use. This study investigated the relationship between Saudi teachers' pedagogical ideas, their understanding of ICT affordances, their integration of ICT into their teaching. To complete this investigation, the contextual factors that might impact ICT integration were also examined.

In this study, a generic qualitative research approach was used. Data were collected (July2018-Feb 2019) from 20 in-depth, one-to-one interviews with university teachers from Saudi Arabia. Data were analysed manually using coding and thematic techniques. The findings suggest that some teachers are aware of popular ICTs, but they seem unable to grasp their strengths in relation to design, usability, accessibility, their full capacities, and their impact on learning. The findings also indicate that some teachers’ espoused pedagogical ideas did not match their teaching style or their use of ICTs in practice. Teachers also reported several factors that may have prevented them from using ICTs in ways consistent with their espoused pedagogical ideas. It is therefore recommended that teachers are helped to understand the strengths and limitations of ICT and how to use it effectively to meet their and their students’ needs.

In addition, this research study considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the findings and provided some suggestions on how to cope with sudden changes in circumstances. It is hoped that this study will help us to understand how ICT is used in higher education, teachers’ expectations and the challenges they face in relation to their understanding of ICT affordances and teaching and learning. Also, the findings from this this study could potentially help university administrators to do more to meet teachers’ needs with regard to using ICT in practice.