Information and technology (ICT)‎ usage in al-Ula schools: an application of Tearle’s framework

Abstract EN

This paper discusses the findings from a recent study into the current status of and challenges to information and communications technology (ICT) usage in Al-Ula schools, as viewed from the perspective of teachers and principals within the schools.

In this study, several themes that highlighted the status of and challenges to ICT use.

Findings from the study showed that while Al-Ula schools were equipped with technology that was inadequate to serve the needs of teachers in the schools.

Additionally, this technology was often difficult to maintain and repair due to a lack of technical support, and funding from the Ministry of Education was insufficient to equip the schools properly.

Most teachers and principals likely needed more training in ICT use.

There appeared to be an overall positive attitude toward technology use, yet the schools lacked a strategic plan for ICT implementation.

These findings are discussed within the context of Tearle’s (2004) A Theoretical and Instrumental Framework for Implementing Change in ICT in Education, which suggests that ICT implementation is most effective when it takes the organization, the individual, practical and material artefacts, and the change process into account.