International Comparative Study of the Use of ICT by Middle School Teachers

Abstract

In this study, we compared the use of information and communications technology (ICT) by middle school teachers in Korea and other countries utilizing the teacher survey data of the IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2013. The ICILS target population consisted of all students in the eighth grade. We compared Korea with Australia, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Poland, which are nations showing the highest achievements in computer and information literacy. We selected nine questions from the teacher questionnaire and divided them into the categories of computer use, use of ICT for teaching and learning, and the ICT support environment in school. In comparison to their counterparts in other countries, Korean middle school science teachers used computers frequently and also had high ICT self-efficacy. They were confident in their ability to use computers for general tasks, but not in their ability to use computers for teaching and learning. The Korean teachers also had a high percentage of utilization of presentation and graphics software. Also, the proportion of activities concerning the information provided and teacher-led tasks was high, but the proportion of activities for student collaboration or peer interaction was low. In Korea, middle school science teachers had more negative than positive views of using ICT in teaching and learning. The teachers thought that computer-related resource support and digital learning materials were insufficient and that the computer model was outdated in schools. Therefore, we propose to build an ICT infrastructure and to develop and disseminate ICT teaching and learning methods for student activities.