Advancing technology use in Ghanaian classrooms: The interplay of national, school, and teacher-level factors

Findings from the previous research have shown that the national, school, and teacher-level factors all have a significant impact on the effectiveness of technology usage in classroom instruction. The current study adopted a holistic and ecological approach that surpasses an isolated investigation of these three-level factors by exploring how teacher-related, school-related, and national-level factors impact science teachers’ technology integration. The study aims to provide a deep understanding of the complexities of integrating digital technology in senior high school science instruction in Ghana. To accomplish the aim of this study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 senior high school science teachers in Ghana. What emerged from the analysis shows that the challenges to the successful integration of technology in science classrooms are complex and multi-layered. At the national level, it was found that efforts by the educational authorities to promote technology use in the classroom have not yet significantly impacted technology use in the science curriculum. At the school level, headmasters/ leaders have not yet created a culture that promotes technology use in the science curriculum. Moreover, at the teacher level, the science teacher’s enthusiasm and willingness to use technology regularly and efficiently were impeded by a lack of required technology competence. In this regard, the findings revealed that all three levels of factors interact in a complex way to impact teachers’ technology integration. Thus, the study concludes that all three levels should be given equal attention, and the challenges they pose need to be addressed to ensure successful technology integration.