Socio-cultural factors influencing the use of ICT in intermediate schools in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Culture has been widely reported as a major factor affecting teachers’ use of information and communication technology (ICT). However, culture cannot be analysed at a single level . This study used three levels of culture, classroom, school and national levels, to analyse teachers’ use of ICT. The study investigates the socio-cultural factors that influence students’ and language teachers’ usage of ICT in their schools and how students and language teachers use ICT in their schools. The study was undertaken within the interpretive paradigm and adopted and integrated several theories: socio-cultural theory, ecological perspective, Hofstede’s model, and a metaphor from the Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM). A multiple case study design was employed to yield detailed data to assist in understanding the use of ICT in schools. Classroom observation, teachers’ semi-structured interviews, and focus groups were conducted to collect data. The sample was composed of six English teachers, five Arabic teachers, three school leaders, three supervisors, and twenty students aged between thirteen to fifteen years old taking part in four focus groups. Participants were selected from three intermediate boys’ schools in Arrass city in Saudi Arabia. The study suggested a new framework that helps determine the level of teachers’ use ICT based on the type of concerns. In teachers’ decisions to use ICT in their classrooms, three types of concern ‘self-concern, task concern and impact concern’ emerged from the data analysis as influential factors. Self-concerns had the strongest effect in that teachers who had more self-concerns tended not to use ICT. Recommendations for policymakers and institutional practices are made