A review of the research literature on barriers to the uptake of ICT by teachers.

Abstract

This report brings together evidence from a range of sources on the actual and perceived barriers to the uptake of ICT by teachers, as identified in a review of some of the available literature associated with teachers' use of ICT, and also by education practitioners who took part in a small scale survey, carried out by Becta.It is published in conjunction with a companion report looking at the factors which enable teachers to make successful use of ICT (Scrimshaw, 2004).The key findings of this report are:• A very significant determinant of teachers' levels of engagement in ICT is their level of confidence in using the technology.Teachers who have little or no confidence in using computers in their work will try to avoid them altogether.(Dawes, 2000;Larner and Timberlake, 1995;Russell and Bradley, 1997.)• There is a close relationship between levels of confidence and many other issues which themselves can be considered as barriers to ICT.For example, levels of confidence and therefore levels of ICT use are directly affected by the amount of personal access to ICT that a teacher has (Ross et al., 1999;Cox et al., 1999;Guha, 2000), the amount of technical support available (Cuban, 1999;Bradley and Russell, 1997), and the amount and quality of training available (Pina and Harris, 1993;Lee, 1997).• Levels of access to ICT are significant in determining levels of use of ICT by teachers (Mumtaz, 2000).However, it is not necessarily the case that a school with low access does not have enough equipment; it may be that the amount of equipment is adequate but inappropriately organised in the school.Equipment should be organised in such a way to ensure maximum access for all users (Pelgrum, 2000;Fabry and Higgs, 1997).• Inappropriate training styles result in low levels of ICT use by teachers.Courses which lack pedagogical aspects are likely to be unsuccessful (Veen, 1993), but there also needs to be an element of ICT skills training (Preston et al., 2000).• Teachers are sometimes unable to make full use of technology because they lack the time needed to fully prepare and research materials for lessons, particularly where this involves online or multimedia content.Time is also needed for teachers to become better acquainted with hardware and software.(Fabry and Higgs, 1997;Manternach-Wigans et al.., 1999.)• Technical faults with ICT equipment are likely to lead to lower levels of ICT use by teachers.Recurring faults, and the expectation of faults occurring during teaching sessions, are likely to reduce teacher confidence and cause teachers to avoid using the technology in future lessons (Bradley and Russell, 1997).The lack of available technical support is also likely to lead to teachers avoiding ICT, for fear of a fault occurring that Version 1, June