A Qualitative Action Research Study of Barriers to ICT Integration at an Eastern Japan Liberal Arts College

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) university teachers in Eastern Japan to overcome barriers to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) in their daily teaching practice. The problem addressed in this study was universities in Japan are under pressure to align their curriculums with government initiatives that demand ICT integration, but governmental guidelines for faculty development across educational institutions have not been developed. The research setting was a liberal arts college in Eastern Japan and purposeful sampling was used to attain a sample of 12 EFL university teachers. Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) served as the theoretical framework. The MAXQDA 12 software was used to identify codes, patterns, and themes across the collected data. The three major themes were: (a) no computer, no projector, and no Internet were faculty barriers to ICT integration, (b) software too difficult to use for teaching purposes was a barrier to ICT integration, and (c) faculty contemplation of learning objectives and learning outcomes informed decisions to integrate ICT successfully. Recommendations for educational leadership included (a) to equip every noncomputer classroom with an Internet connected computer and a projector and to ensure these devices were operational at the start of class, (b) to provide reliable Wi-Fi connectivity to improve adoption of ICT, (c) to create a theoretically-driven ICT training program tied to curriculum learning objectives, and (d) to hire educational technologists to provide “just-in-time” techno-pedagogical support. Recommendations for future research: (a) to conduct a mixed method study to compare the operationalized variables of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework with a qualitative understanding of the CHAT framework to improve faculty training, (b) a longitudinal qualitative narrative study of contract lecturers to investigate sociocultural teaching/learning contexts of different English departments ICT integration in Japan, and (c) a multiple case study of the perceptions and experiences of teachers in disciplines other than EFL in universities across Japan to compare the findings of this study to contribute to a holistic pedagogical training in ICT integration and learning objectives.