Social Studies Teachers’ Views of ICT Integration

Abstract

The role of teachers is significant for information and communication technology (ICT) integration, because the use of ICT in the classroom depends on teachers’ attitudes towards the concept. In other words, for successful ICT integration, teachers are required to have a positive attitude. Providing well-organized ICT teacher training is essential in encouraging teachers to view ICT positively. However, to develop such training, teachers’ opinions, concerns, and needs regarding ICT integration should first be identified. In order to provide better support for social studies teachers using ICT, this article reports social studies teachers’ views, experiences, and attitudes towards ICT integration via individual face-to-face interviews with 23 social studies teachers in Colorado, USA. The results of this study found that the majority of the participating teachers had positive attitudes towards ICT as an instructional tool and wanted to learn more about ICT for effective use in their classrooms. However, they identified the low availability of ICT as a major barrier that limited their use of ICT in the classroom.