The assessment of ICT literacy of Iranian teachers through the ISST model

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of experts of educational technology and teachers in Tehran, about the components of ICT literacy based on the ISST model. Design/methodology/approach – This study conducted a descriptive methodology by using a survey method. The statistical population consisted of 9,800 teachers and 37 experts of educational technology in Tehran; owing to the small size of the experts’ population, all 37 experts were selected for research, and a sample of 266 teachers was selected based on the cluster sampling method. To collect the necessary data, the researcher designed a questionnaire based on four key components of the ISST model. To analyze the data, statistical procedures including the Kolmogrov-Smirnov test, one sample t-test and independent t-test were used. Findings – The findings of research showed that from the viewpoint of experts all components of ICT literacy were significant. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of teachers, all components of ICT literacy except the component of information society were significant. Furthermore, the findings showed that, there were a significant difference (p=0.05) between the views of experts and teachers about all components of ICT literacy, except the component of information processing. Practical implications – The study showed that to equip all teachers with the components of ICT literacy such as information device, information society, information processing and information handling can help them to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and also the ISST model applied in this study can be used by other functional areas. Originality/value – This study showed that fundamental training in the field of ICT literacy for teachers is very essential in the education system, because fluency of ICT skills can help them to increase better performance, and subsequently to increase self-value, motivation, feeling of success and productivity in the work environment.