Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding Technology Integration Failures in Education: The Need for Zero-Order Barriers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Reforms and Innovation in Education

Part of the book series: Science, Technology and Innovation Studies ((STAIS))

Abstract

The idea that technology would revolutionize the classroom has a century-long history. Western world classrooms have experienced successive technology waves such as radio, film, and television (Cuban 1986). The availability of personal computers in the early 1980s marked the beginning of the computer era, leading to the widespread introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in educational systems. For the past three and a half decades, educational reformers have attempted to transform education through technology without much success. This failure is characterized by two main dimensions: extent of use and type of use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angers, J., & Machtmes, K. (2005). An ethnographic-case study of beliefs, context factors, and practices of teachers integrating technology. The Qualitative Report, 10(4), 771–794.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baek, Y., Jung, J., & Kim, B. (2008). What makes teachers use technology in the classroom? Exploring the factors affecting facilitation of technology with a Korean sample. Computers & Education, 50(1), 224–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baggott La Velle, L., McFarlane, A., John, P. D., & Brawn, R. (2004). According to the promises: The subculture of school science, teachers’ pedagogic identity and the challenge of ICT. Education, Communication & Information, 4(1), 109–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beastall, L. (2006). Enchanting a disenchanted child: Revolutionizing the means of education using information and communication technology and e-learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 27(1), 97–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. (2006) The Becta review 2006. Evidence on the progress of ICT in education. Becta, Coventry. http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1427/1/becta_2006_bectareview_report.pdf. Accessed 10 June 2016.

  • British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. (2008). Ηarnessing technology: School survey 2008. Coventry: Becta.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.-H. (2008). Why do teachers not practice what they believe regarding technology integration? The Journal of Educational Research, 102(1), 65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clouse, R. W., & Alexander, E. (1997). Classrooms of the 21st century: Teacher competence, confidence and collaboration. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 26(2), 97–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coburn, C. E. (2004). Beyond decoupling: Rethinking the relationship between the institutional environment and the classroom. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 211–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology. A once and future discipline. Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, M., & Engestrom, Y. (1993). A cultural-historical approach to distributed cognition. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions. Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 1–46). Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Condie, R., Munro, B., Muir, D., & Collins, R. (2005). The impact of ICT initiatives in Scottish schools: Phase 3. Edinburgh: SEED. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/14111116/11170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conlon, T. (2004). A failure of delivery: The United Kingdom’s new opportunities fund programme of teacher training in information and communication technology. Journal of In-service Education, 30(1), 115–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox M, Preston C, Cox K (1999) What factors support or prevent teachers from using ICT in classrooms? Paper presented at the BERA annual conference, University of Sussex at Brighton. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001304.htm. Accessed 15 May 2016.

  • Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuban, L. (1993). Computers meet classroom: Classroom wins. Teachers College Record, 95(2), 185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Computers in schools 1980–2000. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuban, L. (2013). Inside the black box of classroom practice: Change without reform in American education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuban, L., Kirkpatrick, H., & Peck, C. (2001). High access and low use of technologies in high school classrooms: Explaining an apparent paradox. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 813–834.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dexter, S. L., Anderson, R. E., & Becker, H. J. (1999). Teachers’ views of computers as catalysts for changes in their teaching practice. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 31(3), 221–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly, D., McGarr, O., & O’Reilly, J. (2011). A framework for teachers’ integration of ICT into their classroom practice. Computers & Education, 57(2), 1469–1483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R.-L. Punamäki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (2008). Weaving the texture of school change. Journal of Educational Change, 9(4), 379–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (2014). Learning by expanding (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y., & Miettinen, R. (1999). Introduction. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R.-L. Punamäki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y., Engeström, R., & Suntio, A. (2002). Can a school community learn to master its own future? An activity theoretical study of expansive learning among middle school teachers. In G. Wells & G. Claxton (Eds.), Learning for life in the 21st century: Sociocultural perspectives on the future of education (pp. 211–224). London: Blackwell.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ertmer, P. A. (1999). Addressing first-and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47(4), 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eteokleous, N. (2008). Evaluating computer technology integration in a centralized school system. Computers & Education, 51(2), 669–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraillon, J., Ainley, J., Schulz, W., Friedman, T., & Gebhardt, E. (2014). Teaching with and about information and communication technologies. In: Fraillon, J., Ainley, J., Schulz, W., Friedman, T., & Gebhardt, E. (Eds.), Preparing for life in a digital age (pp. 195–228). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granger, C. A., Morbey, M. L., Lotherington, H., Owston, R. D., & Wideman, H. H. (2002). Factors contributing to teachers’ successful implementation of IT. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(4), 480–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, L., Thomas, N., & Lewis, L. (2010). Teachers’ use of educational technology in US public schools: 2009. First look. NCES 2010-040. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A. (2010). Presentism, individualism, and conservatism: The legacy of Dan Lortie’s schoolteacher: A sociological study. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 143–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, D. N. (2007). ICT and learning: Lessons from Australian classrooms. Computers & Education, 49(2), 385–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennessy, S., Ruthven, K., & Brindley, S. (2005). Teacher perspectives on integrating ICT into subject teaching: Commitment, constraints, caution, and change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(2), 155–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hermans, R., Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., & Valcke, M. (2008). The impact of primary school teachers’ educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1499–1509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinostroza, J. E., Labbé, C., Brun, M., & Matamala, C. (2011). Teaching and learning activities in Chilean classrooms: Is ICT making a difference? Computers & Education, 57(1), 1358–1367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodas, S. (1996). Technology refusal and the organizational culture of schools. In: Kling, R. (Ed.) Computerization and controversy value conflicts and social choices (pp. 197–218). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasavvidis, I. (2009). Activity theory as a conceptual framework for understanding teacher approaches to information and communication technologies. Computers & Education, 53(2), 436–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasavvidis, I., & Kollias, V. (2014). Technology integration in the most favorable conditions: Findings from a professional development training program. In C. Karagiannidis, P. Politis, & I. Karasavvidis (Eds.), Research on e-learning and ICT in education (pp. 197–224). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, M. M. (2010). Attribution error and the quest for teacher quality. Educational Researcher, 39(8), 591–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, S. T. (1991). Lever and fulcrum: Educational technology in teachers’ thought and practice. Teachers College Record, 93(1), 114–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Law, N. (2008). Summary and reflections. In N. Law, W. J. Pelgrum, & T. Plomp (Eds.), Pedagogy and ICT use in schools around the world: Findings from the IEA SITES 2006 study (pp. 263–277). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Law, N., & Chow, A. (2008). Teacher characteristics, contextual factors, and how these affect the pedagogical use of ICT. In N. Law, W. J. Pelgrum, & T. Plomp (Eds.), Pedagogy and ICT use in schools around the world: Findings from the IEA SITES 2006 Study (pp. 181–219). Hong Kong: Springer, Comparative Education Research Centre.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Leont’ev, A. N. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leont’ev, A. N. (1981a). Problems of the development of the mind. Moscow: Progress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leont’ev, A.N. (1981b). The problem of activity in psychology. In: Wertsch, J.V. (Ed. & trans.) The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 37–71). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Q. (2007). Student and teacher views about technology: A tale of two cities? Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(4), 377–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, S.-H. (2011). Factors related to pedagogical beliefs of teachers and technology integration. Computers & Education, 56, 1012–1022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lortie, D. C., & Clement, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGarr, O. (2009). The development of ICT across the curriculum in Irish schools: A historical perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(6), 1094–1108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, J., Wood, E., Willoughby, T., Ross, C., & Specht, J. (2008). Identifying discriminating variables between teachers who fully integrate computers and teachers with limited integration. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1523–1537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nocon, H. (2008). Contradictions of time in collaborative school research. Journal of Educational Change, 9(4), 339–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, C., Sullivan, T., Poirot, J., & Soloway, E. (2003). No access, no use, no impact: Snapshot surveys of educational technology in K-12. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36(1), 15–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S., McRobbie, C. J., & Cooper, T. J. (2000). Exploring secondary mathematics teachers’ reasons for not using computers in their teaching: Five case studies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33(1), 87–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office of Technology Assessment. (1995). Teachers and technology: Making the connection. Washington, DC: Office of Technology Assessment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, J. (2000). Trojan horse or teacher’s pet? Computers and the culture of the school. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 32(1), 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson, J., James, E., & Lang, M. (1999). Changing the subject: The challenge of innovation to teacher professionalism in OECD countries. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 31(1), 69–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penuel, W., Fishman, B., Yamaguchi, R., & Gallagher, L. (2007). What makes professional development effective? Strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 921–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrotta, C. (2013). Do school-level factors influence the educational benefits of digital technology? A critical analysis of teachers’ perceptions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(2), 314–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Player-Koro, C. (2012). Factors influencing teachers’ use of ICT in education. Education Inquiry, 3(1), 93–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prestridge, S. (2012). The beliefs behind the teacher that influences their ICT practices. Computers & Education, 58(1), 449–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen, I., & Ludvigsen, S. (2009). The hedgehog and the fox: A discussion of the approaches to the analysis of ICT reforms in teacher education of Larry Cuban and Yrjö Engeström. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 16(1), 83–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, D. L., & Schneiderheinze, A. (2005). Understanding innovation in education using activity theory. Educational Technology & Society, 8(1), 38–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandholtz, J. H., & Reilly, B. (2004). Teachers, not technicians: Rethinking technical expectations for teachers. Teachers College Record, 106(3), 487–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sannino, A. (2008). Sustaining a non-dominant activity in school: Only a utopia? Journal of Educational Change, 9(4), 329–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sannino, A., & Nocon, H. (2008). Special issue editors’ introduction: Activity theory and school innovation. Journal of Educational Change, 9(4), 325–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, S. B. (1990). The predictable failure of educational reform: Can we change course before it’s too late? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, S. B. (2002). Educational reform: A self-scrutinizing memoir. New York: Teachers’ College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selwyn, N. (2008). Realising the potential of new technology? Assessing the legacy of new labour’s ICT agenda 1997–2007. Oxford Review of Education, 34(6), 701–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheingold, K., & Hadley, M. (1990). Accomplished teachers: Integrating computers into classroom practice. Chicago. ED 322 900.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siorenta, A., & Jimoyiannis, A. (2008). Physics instruction in secondary schools: An investigation of teachers’ beliefs towards physics laboratory and ICT. Research in Science & Technological Education, 26(2), 185–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snoeyink, R., & Ertmer, P. A. (2001). Thrust into technology: How veteran teachers respond. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 30(1), 85–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soloway, E., Norris, C., Blumenfeld, P., Fishman, B., Krajcik, J., & Marx, R. (2000). The three Ts of elementary education. Communications of the ACM, 43(12), 15–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somekh, B. (2007). Pedagogy and learning with ICT: Researching the art of innovation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spillane, J. P. (1999). External reform initiatives and teachers’ efforts to reconstruct their practice: The mediating role of teachers’ zones of enactment. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 31(2), 143–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starkey, L. (2010). Supporting the digitally able beginning teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 1429–1438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trumbull, D. J. (1999). The new science teacher: Cultivating good practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyack, D., & Tobin, W. (1994). The “grammar” of schooling: Why has it been so hard to change? American Educational Research Journal, 31(3), 453–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Braak, J., Tondeur, J., & Valcke, M. (2004). Explaining different types of computer use among primary school teachers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19(4), 407–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voogt, J. (2008). Satisfying pedagogical practices using ICT. In N. Law, W. J. Pelgrum, & T. Plomp (Eds.), Pedagogy and ICT use in schools around the world: Findings from the IEA SITES 2006 study (pp. 221–250). Hong Kong: Springer, Comparative Education Research Centre.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L.S. (1960/1981). The genesis of higher mental functions. In: Wertsch, J.V. (Ed & trans) The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 144–188). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Scribner, S., Souberman, E., Eds & trans). Cambridge: Harvard University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L.S. (1987). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky. Vol. 1. Problems of general psychology. Rieber, R.S., Carton, A.S., (Eds.), (trans: Minick, N.). New York: Plenum Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S., & Luria, A. R. (1994). Tool and symbol in child development. In R. van der Veer & J. Valsiner (Eds.), The Vygotsky reader (pp. 99–174). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, L., & Parr, J. M. (2010). Revisiting and reframing use: Implications for the integration of ICT. Computers & Education, 54(1), 113–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, M., & Cox, M. (2004). A review of pedagogy related to information and communications technology. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 13(3), 235–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wikan, G., & Molster, T. (2011). Norwegian secondary school teachers and ICT. European Journal of Teacher Education, 34(2), 209–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Windschilt, M., & Sahl, K. (2002). Tracing teachers’ use of technology in a laptop computer school: The interplay of teacher beliefs, social dynamics, and institutional culture. American Educational Research Journal, 39(1), 165–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, E., Mueller, J., Willoughby, T., Specht, J., & DeYoung, T. (2005). Teachers’ perceptions: Barriers and supports to using technology in the classroom. Education, Communication & Information, 5(2), 183–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamazumi, K. (2008). A hybrid activity system as educational innovation. Journal of Educational Change, 9(4), 365–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, H. (2012). ICT in English schools: Transforming education? Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 101–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yee, D. (2001). The many faces of ICT leadership. In B. Barrell (Ed.), Technology, teaching and learning: Issues in the integration of technology (pp. 223–238). Calgary, Detselig.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 807–840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Y., Pugh, K., Sheldon, S., & Byers, J. (2002). Conditions for classroom technology innovations. The Teachers College Record, 104(3), 482–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preschool Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Ilias Karasavvidis

  2. Department of Primary Teacher Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Vassilis Kollias

Authors
  1. Ilias Karasavvidis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vassilis Kollias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ilias Karasavvidis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California State University Sacramento, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Sacramento, California, USA

    Alexander M. Sidorkin

  2. Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York, USA

    Mark K. Warford

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Karasavvidis, I., Kollias, V. (2017). Understanding Technology Integration Failures in Education: The Need for Zero-Order Barriers. In: Sidorkin, A., Warford, M. (eds) Reforms and Innovation in Education. Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60246-2_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation