Examining EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Web 2.0 Technologies Using a Structural Equation Modeling Technique

Abstract

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) provides a framework of teacher knowledge to integrate technology into education successfully. Applying digital technologies to TPACK in order to understand the range of language teachers’ ability levels is of considerable importance. The present study sought to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ perceived knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies in light of Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK framework. To this end, a structural model was put forth on the basis of interactions of the TPACK seven-factor model. The participants of the study consisted of 160 EFL teachers, who were selected through an alternative sampling procedure. The data were collected from the participants through a TPACK-EFL questionnaire. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to analyze the pathways of Web 2.0 technology, pedagogy, and content and their interactions in the TPACK model. The results revealed that Web 2.0 technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and content knowledge (CK), as core knowledge components, influenced the second-level knowledge bases, namely technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological content knowledge (TCK) positively and directly except for one construct. Conversely, the impacts of TK, PK, and CK on TPACK were not statistically significant, and, as a result, did not work towards developing EFL teachers’ TPACK. Furthermore, TPK, TCK, and PCK were found to serve as contributing factors in the development of TPACK. Finally, the pedagogical and theoretical implications of interrelationships between the constructs and possible interpretations are discussed.