The application of ICT in the music classroom: Factors that influence technology integration in New Zealand secondary schools.
This thesis investigates how New Zealand secondary school music teachers used ICT in their music programmes between 2008 and 2012. It started from the assumption that the adoption of technology in secondary music classrooms was uncommon and mostly limited by inadequate equipment and the low premium teachers put on the value of integrating technology into their teaching. Two data samples were collected consecutively, four years apart (2008-2012), and the data was used to identify the drivers that influence changes in the surveyed teachers’ pedagogical practice. The research questions focus on music teachers’ use of computer technology in their teaching pedagogy. The questions probe whether teachers integrate technology in their teaching programmes, and if they do, why and how. The questions also investigate the strongest influences on teachers’ adoption of new technology. The thesis examines the changes and constants over the period of the study and reflects how New Zealand music teachers’ practice aligns with that of teachers abroad. The data collected from interviews provided sufficient evidence to conduct a comparative analysis over the extended period. Methodologically, the thesis followed a qualitative research approach combined with longitudinal elements to support the comparative analysis. The data was collected by means of interviews with 13 respondents during each of the two separate data collections in 2008 and 2012. The two data sets captured teachers’ practice and provided evidence of change for analysis and evaluation. The interview questions probed teachers’ skills and their use of ICT, the perceived difficulties of ICT integration, and possible changes to their practice. The thesis divides into seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of the thesis. It explains the role of the teacher-researcher against the background of a secondary school music department in New Zealand. Chapter 2 introduces and reviews the relevant local and international literature on the use of ICT in education, how ICT affects teachers and students during the process of teaching and learning, and how ICT is used in music education. Chapter 3 establishes the qualitative methodological approach and outlines the analytical process that was used to determine the findings. Chapters 4 and 5 present the two data sets organised into five categories: infrastructure, skills and knowledge, inside the classroom, support, and ways forward. Chapter 6 presents the findings and provides a comparative analysis of the two sets of data. The chapter concludes with a thematic synthesis of the findings. The findings identify four elements that are present when effective technology integration occurs: accessibility, connectivity, pedagogy, and motivation. The latter two produce intrinsic motivation for teachers to engage in the process of ICT integration. Accessibility and connectivity, on the other hand, are the most important extrinsic motivators for ICT integration. Chapter 7 is the concluding chapter that summarises the aims of the thesis by revisiting the five research questions. The answers to these questions are discussed in relation to the findings with literature references to current music education and ICT practice. The original contribution of the thesis provides a comparative analysis of classroom practice over a four-year period. It shows how teaching practice in music classrooms changed from 2008 to 2012 and suggests reasons for these changes. Chapter 7 highlights the limitations of the thesis and provides practical implications for music teachers. Suggestions for ways to build on the knowledge gained from this thesis are made. The thesis found that technology is not integrated effectively or consistently in secondary school music classrooms. This is despite ongoing government initiatives and professional development opportunities. The findings indicated that teachers’ outlook and belief systems were powerful intrinsic motivators for the use of ICT, more so than extrinsic factors such as policy changes or access to ICT equipment. This thesis gives a unique glimpse into music teachers’ practice and technology integration in New Zealand.
Music, music education, ICT, music technology, digital technology, ICT integration, TPACK, qualitative, critical pedagogy, music teachers, secondary school, New Zealand
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