The Effects of Influencing Factors on Upper Secondary School Teachers’ Use of Digital Learning Resources for Teaching

Abstract

Due to the disruptive societal challenges in the 2020s and increased use of digital tools in education, there is a growing need for more studies that investigate and reveal the factors that influence teachers’ use of digital learning resources (DLR). Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the effects of influencing factors on upper secondary school teachers' use of digital learning resources for teaching. 243 teachers from 23 upper secondary schools in Sweden participated in a survey that included a six-point Likert scale. The data was analysed using exploratory factor- and correlation analyses. The study contributes with five unique different influencing factors: 1) facilitating school environment, 2) social support, 3) previous work, education, and hobby, 4) student-oriented factors, and 5) stress. The previous work, education and hobby, and the stress categories differ significantly from previous studies. The findings also revealed five different dimensions of teachers’ use of DLR: creative purposes, providing teaching materials, providing student feedback, tests and games, and the use of film, audio, and virtual simulation. The findings indicate that teachers who use DLR with a focus on their students’ learning are more creative in their use of DLR. The implications are that some teachers need more time and in-service training to develop basic skills with DLR to reduce their stress for using DLR. Based on the findings of this research, it can be suggested that in-service training programs need to focus more on students’ needs to promote a more creative use of DLR for teaching.