Literature Review on the Factors Affecting Primary Teachers’ Use of Digital Technology

Digital technology is widely available in schools; however, results from international studies indicate that they are not effective toward students' educational achievement. Teachers need to realise the potential of digital technology in their daily practises and use them well. However, teachers need training and guidelines to develop their expertise when using technology for teaching and learning. Failure to do so might result in students lacking the necessary coping skills for their future life in the information age. This literature review aimed to find out what factors affect primary teachers' use of digital technology in their teaching practices, so as to suggest better training, which will eventually lead to a more guided and relevant use of technology in education. After applying the concept map to the data from the selected studies, four influencing factors were identified: teachers' knowledge, attitudes and skills, which are also influenced by and influence the school culture. From these findings, recommendations on teacher training with technology and suggestions for further research are given.

Four influencing factors were identified: teachers' knowledge, attitudes and skills, which are also influenced by and influence the school culture.... Teachers found it difficult to adapt to new digital tools continuously, especially when previous lessons worked well, and to accept that some students might be more skilful in using a new digital technology than themselves.... Ultimately, it was found that preservice training in technology ensured better skilled teachers, with the right attitudes to develop digital technology in the school curriculum.... [T]eachers required not only the skill to use digital tech‐ nology but also the right attitudes and the knowledge on how to apply these skills.... It was revealed that the application of digital competence to primary school teacher’s professional development is in line with Ferrari (2013), where she indicated that for an effective use of digital technology, a citizen required digital competence (DC) which include the knowledge, the skills and the right attitude to use technology in five areas, namely to manage information, to communicate, to create content, for safety and to solve problems." (Authors, Abstract and 124)