An Investigation on the Teachers’ Perceptions on “ICT Integration”: Evidence from Indonesian EFL Classrooms

Abstract

AbstractTransforming teaching and learning by increasing use of information technology in classrooms has been the critical issue in most Southeast Asian countries’ agenda of teaching reforms, Indonesia is no exception. Since the last few decades, particularly during the Covid 19 pandemic, research conducted all over the world have confirmed that the effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in classrooms depend fundamentally on the teachers’ ICTs knowledge and skills and their attitudes which ultimately determine how they will implement it in their teaching practices. In Indonesian social and cultural context EFL teaching, the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed meaningfully to the professional development EFL teachers in secondary schools. This paper answers a significant question: what are the teachers’ perceptions on the idea of “ICT Integration”? It aims to provide an understanding of the pedagogical adaptation of ICT and transformation to Indonesian secondary school classrooms by examining the impact of teachers’ pedagogical beliefs on the use of ICT into the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning practices. This research employed a qualitative approach in order to reveal teachers’ views on implementation of the concept of “ICT Integration”. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the first-hand data of various general and specific comments from a variety of teachers of different gender, age, teaching experience, academic qualifications, and social economic backgrounds about their opinions regarding the application of ICT. The empirical evidence demonstrated the teachers’ positive feelings about using educational technology in the classroom. The participants also revealed that many teachers were not familiar with the overall concept of new educational technologies. The results of the study show that teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are the significant variables in explaining teachers’ ICT integration into their English classrooms, implying that an urgent professional development is needed in Indonesia.KeywordsICTEFL teachersTeacher’s perceptionPedagogical transformationProfessional development