Covid 19 and Education: The Untold Story of the Barriers to Technology Adoption From A Tertiary Viewpoint

Abstract

The Covid- 19 Pandemic has changed the way Higher learning institutions normally conduct learning. Educational technology is a learning tool that helps lecturers enhance learning through instructional practices; however, lecturers are having difficulties adopting technology. The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers that lecturers’ face when attempting to adopt technology and the support needed to be successful within their instructional practices. The conceptual frameworks for this study were Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and Rogers’ diffusion of innovation. The study included eight lecturers from a Caribbean college in Antigua and Barbuda as participants. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis.  Findings from the study indicated that there were barriers that were preventing lecturers from adopting technology. These barriers included the need for professional training, institutional support, and observational learning of others which would assist with lecturers’ pedagogy, content knowledge, and technology adoption.  The results of the study may lead to social change by revealing potential barriers that lecturers face during technology use. The study can also provide both lecturers and stakeholders with data that is Caribbean-specific and can provide the most effective plan to support lecturers’ adoption of technology.

Keywords: Barriers to Technology Adoption, Caribbean lecturers’ hindrances to technology adoption, Covid-19, Barriers to technology adoption in Higher Learning

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-10-02

Publication date: April 30^th 2021