Teacher Attitudes Regarding the Use of Digital Technology in Classrooms: Early Years Settings in Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Original Article

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Lecturer, Department of Kindergarten - College of Education - King Khalid University

Abstract

Abstract
The ability of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance learning in schools is currently a matter of debate and stakeholders in education are eager to ensure children receive the benefits of the modern cyber era without being disadvantaged by it in any way. Teachers are often best placed to judge the impacts of learning materials upon performance since they work directly with pupils, are the ones who apply the materials in class, and are able to judge the impacts upon students first hand. Although much research has been conducted on the use of technology in secondary and higher education, there is currently a lack of material concerning the preliminary stages. However, this stage may be the most critical since early experiences can be highly influential upon the rest of a child’s academic career. This dissertation explores the use of technology within early years classrooms in Saudi Arabia. It begins by examining the Saudi education system and emphasizing the importance of this new curricular subject to the Kingdom. The study sets out its aims of exploring teacher attitudes about using technology in classrooms as well their perceptions of the barriers that exist to its integration. The study adopts a mixed research design, using questionnaires and interviews to gather a range of data from teachers working in public, private and religious schools across Al-Jubail city. The study finds that teachers are currently using a wide variety tools, despite perceiving they do not possess enough training to do so. Some tools are very popular although they have not been discussed in the available literature.

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