Running head: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY IN LIBYAN ESL PRE-SERVICE

TEACHERS’ PREPARATION PROGRAM

Integrating technology into the programs of Libyan ESL pre-service teacher preparation

Khalifa S. Elgosbi

Northern Illinois University

ETR 720

Spring 2017
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 2  

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which pre-service teachers’

perceptions and attitudes toward integrating technology might influence the preparation

programs for pre-service Libyan ESL teachers in three large Colleges of Education in Tripoli

University. This chapter starts with a section called statement of the research problem in which

the research problem is introduced and explained. In the next section, there is a statement of the

purpose of the researcher and a description of the significance of the study. After that, there is a

section for the research questions followed by another section that includes a brief discussion of

the theoretical framework of the study. Then, the final sections will provide the assumptions for

the study, delimitations and limitations, definition of terms and a concluding summary of the

chapter.

Statement of the research problem

This study is aiming to investigate the issue of integrating technology into the programs of

pre-service Libyan ESL teacher education. The departure point of this study will be tracing the

historical development of Technological, Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge (TPACK). Also,

there will be a discussion of how ESL teaching practice has benefited from developing the

TPACK of pre-service teachers in many countries. The discussion will include Vygotsky’s

theory of social constructivism and factors affecting TPACK in teaching practice.

Teachers’ TPACK has been the focus of many research studies to measure and develop

teacher preparation practices in general. Most recent research attempts can be cited in relation to

the development and use of TPACK (Kaya, Kaya, & Emre, 2013; Sahin, Celik, & Aydin, 2013;
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 3  

Shinas, Yilmaz-Ozden, Mouza, Karchmer-Klein, & Glutting, 2013). Toward the mid-eighties,

concern of research was directed heavily to the issue of teacher preparation curricula and

materials, and consequently there were many researchers who were trying to explain how pre-

service teachers gained their working ideas and principles. Schulman (1986) began to criticize

the existing curricula at that time for being content-free and meaningless even though they were

based on research, which was focusing on teaching competence (Shulman, 1986). Following the

track that Shulman described, many other critics of the situation surfaced and began to call for a

change. For example, Westhoff and Polman (2007), who conducted a case study of pedagogical

content knowledge (PCK) investigating a 2002-2003 project at a Midwestern university,

concluded that when pedagogical strategies are related to content subject matter knowledge

students learned most effectively.

Researchers who followed the footsteps of Shulman (1986) were able to develop this area

of research to coincide with advancement in technology. As technology continued to advance,

the focus on Shulman’s PCK enhanced an experimental interest for integrating technology with

pedagogy and content to develop PCK. So far, studies of teacher preparation development have

continued to develop different improvements of PCK by alternative researchers (Dilworth, et al.,

2012; Westhoff & Polman, 2007; Ma, Williams, Prejean, Lai, & Ford, 2008). Notions were

added to this literature area such as considering the teacher a sort of “curricular-instructional

gatekeeper” (Manfra, & Hammond, 2006, p. 240). Moreover, teachers became involved in

measuring their knowledge through utilizing pre-service teachers’ self-assessment scales

(Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler, & Shin, 2009).

The issue of integrating technology in teacher preparation has been part of this research

concern for some time. However, technology influence on education is not the same all over the
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 4  

world. The differences from one country to another are the result of the size in which technology

is utilized in each community. So we expect integrating technology in the programs of pre-

service ESL teacher education in Libya to be different from any other education system in the

world. In this study, the focus issue will be about how Libyan ESL teaching practice might

benefit from measuring the TPACK of pre-service teachers of education colleges in Libya.

ESL pre-service teachers in particular are in need of using technology because language

learning and teaching has become dependent on technological tools such as the Internet, wiki,

podcasts, Youtube technologies and a lot more. Easier to use technologies such as smartphones,

tablets and email services are available on the personal level and can be utilized by teacher

education ESL pre-service and student teachers. Most of these pre-service teachers belong to the

digital generation and can display enough abilities and positive attitudes for using technology

and embracing its potential in teaching (Geng, & Disney, 2014). Once teacher preparation

programs are aimed at integrating technology into the syllabi, teaching practice can benefit from

the availability of technological tools and applications. Teaching practice will also become part

of such integration as pre-service teachers’ attention is drawn toward this source of teaching

strategies. Yet, Libyan teacher preparation programs deprive their students from exposure to the

most important part of current teacher knowledge (Rhema, & Miliszewska, 2010), which is

integrating technology. Due to problems in infrastructures, lack of plans to use proper

technology, and other sociopolitical problems, colleges of education in Libya are not benefiting

from the facilities and advantages that technology might bring to teacher education.

Purpose statement

Research in TPACK, particularly pre-service TPACK, is still lacking in Libya where this
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 5  

student is a university staff member in one of the education colleges in Tripoli. What makes this

area of research so limited is the fact that Libya is a country that is digitally divided from the

world. Although the influence of technology on life is growing steadily in Libya (Rhema, &

Miliszewska, 2010), educational technology is only available in the form of personal devices or

informal attempts to utilize technological tools in teaching and learning. However, on the formal

level teacher education is still suffering from problems of poor infrastructure, corruption in the

education systems, and traditional teacher preparation programs. Although TPACK has been on

the top of research agenda in many countries in the world, such as US, Canada, China, Turkey

and Malaysia, the researchers and decision makers in Libya still have not embraced its

significance to teacher education. Teaching practice in particular is suffering from this absence

of technology in education, which has affected the ways new teachers start their career as

working teachers once they are hired to teach ESL in secondary schools. A review of the

literature showed that this area is still not researched in Libya despite some studies that have

investigated ICT utilization in educational institutions of the country (Rhema, & Miliszewska,

2010).

Therefore, this study is going to investigate the relationship between the Libyan ESL pre-

service teachers’ perceptions and attitudes toward using technological knowledge, and ability for

integrating technology, first as student teachers enrolled in teaching practice modules and then in

their teaching and activities when they become working teachers. Teacher preparation colleges in

Libya provide the students with the opportunities to specialize in teaching subjects such as

history, physics, chemistry, English, Arabic, etc. The pre-service teachers who pass all required

semesters and manage to graduate from a teacher preparation college can easily find a job in one

of the public elementary or secondary schools in the specialization they had already chosen. For
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 6  

example, English departments in teacher preparation colleges prepare students to be teachers of

English as a second language (ESL) and their educational content is delivered in English. For the

teaching practice module, the pre-service teachers have to experience eight weeks of continuous

practice doing a real classroom schedule teaching English as a second language to Libyan

secondary school students who have to pass the subject for school graduation. This teaching

practice usually consists of two weeks classroom observation, two weeks of co-teaching with the

classroom teacher, and four weeks of teaching independently taking full responsibility of the

activities from planning to classroom management in the same way the classroom teacher does.

Educators from the colleges of education follow these student teachers into the school as

supervisors to evaluate them, provide guidance and give advice when needed. The student

teachers are urged to take full responsibility of the classroom as soon as they are ready and

confident to do so. Most of the student teachers find it interesting and build up their strategies

during these eight weeks of teaching practice and benefit from the help that the in-service

classroom teacher provides for them. However, neither their educators nor their future schools

are satisfied with these pre-service teachers in terms of performance and confidence when they

start teaching in the real classroom once they have been assigned jobs as secondary public school

teachers. Furthermore, pre-service teachers themselves complain that their preparation is lacking.

They all agree that pre-service teachers are not able to apply teaching strategies or use of

instructional technology into real classroom practice once they become working teachers. The

use of technology in their teaching styles is mostly limited to traditional audio-visual teaching

aids such as tape recorders, pictures, and flip charts rather than computers, the Internet, tablets,

and smartphones.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 7  

Quite recent studies have concluded that technology-based instructional design enhanced

students’ learning experiences and supported meaningful learning (Neo, Neo, & Lim, 2013).

Therefore, integrating technology emerged as a requirement of change for more effective pre-

service teaching practice (Geng, & Disney, 2014). TPACK in its new form can help in making

decisions of including and integrating instructional technology into the daily practices of pre-

service teachers to enable newly graduated instructors to teach with technology (Foulger, Buss,

Wetzel, & Lindsey, 2012; Sahin, et al., 2013).

Teaching practice is an important side of the coin to teacher preparation programs. Scholars

and educators have indicated its significance as an essential part of teacher preparation (Trent,

2010). Putting to practice what has been learned through theoretical modules of colleges

represents a top and crucial component for developing teaching strategies. From a TPACK point

of view, teaching practicum is the time when a pre-service teacher starts training her/his ability

to interweave information from the three components of instruction, namely, content knowledge,

pedagogical ideas, and technological tactics (Swan & Hofer 2011). Moreover, research studies

have indicated the need for enhancing efforts toward the revolutionizing of teaching practice to

include ideas, tools and designs from instructional technology to prepare teachers with better

strategies and higher abilities for classroom teaching (Schmidt, et al., 2009).

More research efforts are recommended by many researchers to further investigate the

areas of teacher preparation and practicum, (Schmidt et al; Swan & Hofer, 2011) instructional

design integration, pre-service teacher TPACK, and teaching with technology. Although TPACK

as a research topic has been the focus of many research studies, researchers still point out the

need for further emphasis on this framework and survey instruments associated with educational

uses of technology (Sahin, et al 2013; Shinas et al., 2013). Studying TPACK as part of teacher
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 8  

knowledge rather than as teacher attitudes is one recommendation for future researchers (Kaya et

al., 2013).

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which Libyan pre-service ESL

teachers’ perception and attitudes can affect integrating technology in teacher preparation Libyan

pre-service teachers’ practice. The research query is going to be the extent to which the

development of pre-service teaching practice TPACK can encourage students who are training to

become ESL teachers to use technology in their teaching. To synthesize this research area, this

researcher will discuss the following topics: developing knowledge for using technology by pre-

service teachers in their classroom and teaching practices, the need for TCK in education to

improve pre-service teachers’ attitudes in the classroom, integrating technology in teacher

education programs. These themes will be further discussed chapter two below.

Significance of the study

All over the world today, there is a robust concordance that educational technologies have a

unique influence on the learning and teaching strategies that take place in the classroom

(Dilworth, et al., 2012; Geng, & Disney, 2014; Gill, et al, 2015; Kablan, & Kaya, 2014; Kukner,

& Orr, 2015; Manfra, & Hammond, 2006; Park, & Ertmer, 2007). Teaching skills and strategies

are mainly a result of educational college instruction, and are, consequently, considered a vital

component of pre-service teaching practice. According to Park and Ertmer (2007), teacher

performance is measured in terms of these skills and strategies, which are also connected to the

pre-service teacher evaluation during the preparation modules of teaching practice. Thus, the

impact of teacher preparation programs on the pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills will

trickle down to the students’ achievements. If pre-service teachers’ TCK and PCK can be
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 9  

controlled and incorporated into their teaching practice tasks, the student teachers will acquire

career skills and strategies for working as a classroom teacher after graduating from college

(Park & Ertmer, 2007). Integrating technological knowledge and pedagogical content is a

requirement to meet the cultural tools that are available for learners in 21st century. Newly

existing technological tools in the form of mobile phones, tablet devices, and laptop computers

tend to allow school students to use applications and services such as text messaging, social

webs, webinars, and the like (Geng, & Disney, 2014; Kablan, & Kaya, 2014). In the 21st century

educational context, these tools are not only manifestations of the learners’ cultural environment,

but also a form of literacy that is psychologically significant for developing cognitive progress

and higher thinking levels of conceptualizing (Moll, 1991). Learners use this kind of literacy to

interact with the sociocultural environment and to mediate concepts before they can internalize

them (Smolutcha, 1989). Teachers on the other hand need to be facilitators, so their TCK and

PCK need to meet their students’ abilities for interacting with technology. Unless they are more

knowledgeable, they are more likely to fall back on the traditional methods and techniques in

which they had been prepared (Manfera & Hammond, 2006). This concern alone makes it an

urgent issue for teacher educators and teacher education institutions to adopt constructivist

technology-integrating plans as soon as possible.

The connection between ESL pre-service teachers and TPACK came as a result of the

universality and swift availability of technology that created its significance for education in

general and for teacher preparation in particular (Manfra, & Hammond, 2006; Swan & Hofer,

2011). Many countries of the world such as Turkey, Malaysia, Brazil …etc. have switched their

attention to the issue of integrating technology in teaching of languages. In particular, these

countries have always watched and wanted to improve their ESL programs to meet the status of
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 10  

English language as the lingua franca of the world. This imposed the fact that to become an

excellent and successful ESL teacher, a pre-service student teacher has to be exposed to

technology on a daily basis. Countries such as the US and Canada have even set global standards

for teacher preparation programs and for granting recognition to teacher preparation institutes

(Dilworth, et al., 2012; Kuhlman, 2010; O’Brien, 2010; Schmidt, et al., 2009).

The availability and provision of access has provided easier tools for technology-adopters

to utilize: smartphones, tablets, internet (Swan & Hofer (2011), but at the same time it has

doubled the task for ESL teachers who are currently expected to have the knowledge and the

efficacy to implement technology while working on the pedagogical content part. And as

technology advanced, it added to the complications that teaching has always been criticized

(Koehler & Mishra, 2009). Pre-service teachers need to know how to access and use technology

to enhance the learners’ chances in gaining the required knowledge about the subject matter. Not

bridging the gap between pre-service teachers and their lack of skills by exposure to learning

technology for instructional purposes is considered by many researchers as a defect of teacher

preparation programs and institutions (Park, & Ertmer, 2007; Velazquez-Torres, 2006). Results

of many research studies about use of technology and pedagogical content emphasize the

importance of building pre-service competency by means of integrating technological content

into the design of teacher preparation courses (Foulger, et al., 2012; Kaya, et al., 2013; Sahin, et

al., 2013; Shinas, et al., 2013). Specifically, in Libya, ESL teacher preparation programs are in

need of wide investigation concerning technological pedagogical content knowledge and

integration of technology.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 11  

Research questions

Teaching with technology can be very challenging, especially if pre-service teachers are

performing in a country suffering from the digital divide. According to Koehler and Mishra

(2009), most of the challenge is initiated by the fact that technologies are fast moving and always

presenting new forms for the users. As stated by Schmidt, et al (2009), “TPACK is a term used

increasingly to describe what teachers need to know to effectively integrate technology into their

teaching practices” (p. 125). The constructs of this model work together toward identifying the

knowledge a pre-service teacher might need to use technology as a strategy of teaching in the

classroom. For the purpose of this proposed study, two constructs have been chosen to frame the

research questions, TCK and PCK. TCK as defined by Koehler is “the knowledge about various

digital technologies such as computers, internet, mobile devices, interactive whiteboards, digital

video, and software applications” (Öz, 2015, p. 120). PCK is “deep knowledge about the

processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning and encompasses (among other

things) overall educational purposes, values, and aims” (Koehler & Mishra, 2008, p. 14). The

research questions were designed to seek data related to the purpose of the study, which is to

investigate the perceptions and attitudes that Libyan pre-service ESL teachers have toward

integrating technology in their preparation programs. The following questions were based on two

constructs of TPACK and the conceptual framework of constructivism.

1. To what extent can ESL pre-service teachers’ technological knowledge (PCK and TCK)

or lack of technological knowledge (PCK and TCK) relate to their perceptions and

attitudes toward integrating technology in the college’s teaching practicum?

2. Does prior knowledge about various digital technologies (PCK) relate to the Libya ESL

pre-service teaching practicum?

Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 12  

3. Do demographic variables of age, gender, location, class type, command of English level,

prior teaching experience, and experience with technology predict the ESL pre-service

teachers’ perceptions about integrating technology in Libyan teacher preparation

colleges?

4. Do demographic variables of age, gender, location, class type, command of English level,

prior teaching experience, and experience with technology predict the ESL pre-service

teachers’ PCK and TCK in Libyan teacher preparation colleges?

Theoretical framework

Based on the results of the literature review, this study is going to use the theoretical

frame of Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism and Shulman’s (1986) TPACK model to

determine the influence of integrating technology on the performance of Libyan pre-service ESL

teachers. Ideas of social interaction, more knowledgeable other (MKO), and zone of proximal

development (ZPD) have many implications in today’s education and learning (Hayward, 1995;

Moll, 1991; Seng, 1997; Smolucha, 1989). Vygotsky’s contribution to constructivist theory

became one of the foundations for integrating technology into education fields. The main

principle of this theory (i. e. constructing knowledge through social interaction) is working as

guidelines for learning and teaching with technology.

The idea that TPACK is used to enhance integrating technology into teacher preparation

and education can be traced back to constructivist learning theories such as Schulman’s (1986)

PCK. The concepts of ‘pedagogical content knowledge’ (PCK) and ‘technological content

knowledge’ (TCK), which developed from the works of Mishra and Kohler (2006), support that

pre-service teachers who are prepared in technology can become effective classroom teachers as
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 13  

they possess certain skills and strategies of working with technology that suits the cultural

environment of their students. Research to date is consistent with Lee Shulman’s (1986)

theoretical grounds of teaching with pedagogical content knowledge, which requires that

teachers be prepared and perform through pedagogical skills. Technological knowledge, on the

other hand, will instruct the pre-service teacher about how to create learning opportunities for

students during their teaching practice as part of their teacher preparation (Kablan & Kaya,

2014).

The social constructivist theory holds that the role of the teacher is to facilitate construction

of knowledge through active participation of the learner. A constructivist teacher needs to use

teacher knowledge to discover the learners’ prior experiences and to create connections with

target knowledge. Thus, the learner’s chances of developing new concepts and internalizing the

learning experiences are dependent on the pre-service teacher’s TPACK. Therefore, social

constructivist theory and Shulman’s (1986) TPACK model will be the guide for this proposed

research study. TPACK is the most commonly used and tested theory in integration of

technology with instructional activities. Studies that assessed, tested, and measured TPACK or
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 14  

studies that investigated the factors that control integrating technology in teacher preparation and

education all used this theory to underpin the research constructs (Foulger, et al., 2012; Gan,

2013; Neo, et al., 2013; Öz, 2015). The seven constructs of TPACK, which represent the

potential of teachers’ knowledge that can be developed by pre-service teachers to meet the

classroom practice requirement of strategies and skills. TK, PK, CK, PCK, TCK, and TPACK

are the total constructs of knowledge a pre-service teacher needs to grasp before he can practice

teaching in a classroom (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). For example, PCK is a construct that

indicates one of the elements that a pre-service teacher needs in order to be able to teach. Each

construct of TPACK can be separately broken down to some skills and activities, which a teacher

preparation program might include to orientate, train, assess and graduate a pre-service teacher.

Thus, PCK can be broken into the strategies of lesson planning, presentation skills, assessment,

mentoring, and scaffolding. Similarly, TCK can be divided to smaller aspects of owning

technology; using technological tools; operating, downloading and uploading of programs and

applications; creating learning opportunities with technology; assisting learners; communicating;

and even programing as well as making visual technology materials such as podcasts and videos.

In this proposed study, the two constructs of PCK and TCK will be employed as the

independent variables that will predict the dependent variable. The dependent variable will be the

pre-service teachers’ performance in teaching practice sessions and later in the real classroom.

Assumptions

For the purpose of the study, the following assumptions will also be included:

• The focus of this study is on the assumption that ESL pre-service teachers and their

colleges will benefit from integrating technology in the instructional procedure of

Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 15  

their educators to build and use some sort of TPACK during the teaching practice

modules.

• This study assumes that TPACK model will be a reliable measure of teacher

pedagogical and technological knowledge influence on teachers’ performance.

• Another assumption is that since the instrument: “Survey of Pre-service Teachers’

Knowledge of Teaching and Technology” (Öz, 2015), has been extensively used in

various subject areas to assess pre-service teachers’ development of Technological

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), it will add to the reliability and validity

of the study results.

• The researcher also assumes that using NIU Qualtrics link for collecting the

required data via the participants’ emails will not only save time for the researcher,

but it will also be more convenient to all the participants in terms of time and

location.

Delimitations and limitations

It is worth noting here that there will be some delimitations and limitations to the study:

• Perhaps the first and most significant limitation is the fact that The study will be

restricted to one Libyan college of education, namely Janzour College of Education in

Tripoli University, which makes it limited to one small population compared to the large

pre-service teacher population in Libya. However, as delimitation, the researcher will

recommend future studies to consider covering all Libyan pre-service teachers who are

enrolled in education colleges in Libya.

• Another limitation is that the researcher will only use electronic survey because it is
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 16  

easier and timesaving although there are other aspects, which need to be considered as

well. For example, the researcher did not consider the issue of the responding processes

to electronic surveys in non-online education system in Libya. The fact that there are no

Libyan studies regarding these issues makes it difficult to delimit this challenge.

• Another limitation is that the study will be longitudinal and the researcher will need to

follow the respondents into their schools to measure their use of technology once they

become working teachers. There is a risk that the respondents might withdraw from the

study for many reasons such as changing their careers after graduation or moving to live

in places where technology is not available or any other concerns. If this happens, t will

affect the response rate and it will cause the data to suffer from missing values.

Therefore, in the second phase of data collection, the researcher is planning to attract the

participants’ attention and encourage participation by means of some prize-winning

techniques to raise the levels of responding as high as possible.

Summary of the chapter

This chapter is focused on the purpose of the study, which is to investigate and predict

the influence of integrating technology on the performance of Libyan pre-service ESL teachers

in Janzour College of Education in Tripoli University while attending programs of teaching

practice. To determine the influence of integration of technology into the student teaching

programs of Libyan ESL pre-service teachers, the study will use the TPACK model, which is

based on Schulman’s model of PACK (Schulman 1986) and constructivist theory. The

methodology of the study utilized a quantitative research design, which consisted of many

research phases. First, two data collection phases are intended for the administration of an online

survey previously used by Öz (2015). The next phase will be dedicated to data analysis and the
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 17  

researcher will use a recent version of IBM SPSS program and referential statistics principles

and assumptions. The fourth phase discusses the results in the light of SPSS outputs obtained.

The four phases of this study will help gather data and analyses in order to reach a conclusion

and provide recommendations regarding the issue of integrating technology into the preparation

of Libyan pre-service teachers.

Overall, the study will investigate the relationship between pre-service teachers’

TPACK and their perceptions and attitudes toward using technology as working teachers of

English in the future. The study show how two constructs of TPACK (i.e. PCK and TCK) might

predict the attitudes and perceptions of pre-service ESL teachers toward applying knowledge of

technological and pedagogical nature into real classroom teaching practice. The findings of the

study will help teacher education programs in Libya integrate technology into their syllabi and

course work to meet the future requirements of technological use in education.

Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 18  

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

   
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 19  

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine the factors that might

control integrating technology in the programs of teacher preparation courses of education

colleges in Tripoli University and to examine the influence that technology might have on

teacher practicum of ESL pre-service teachers in Libya.

This chapter is a description of the research methodology and procedures that will be

used to answer the following research questions:

1. To what extent can ESL pre-service teachers’ technological knowledge (PCK

and TCK) or lack of technological knowledge (PCK and TCK) relate to their

perceptions and attitudes toward integrating technology in the college’s teaching

practicum?

2. Does prior knowledge about various digital technologies (PCK) relate to the

Libya ESL pre-service teaching practicum?

3. Do demographic variables of age, gender, location, class type, command of

English level, prior teaching experience, and experience with technology predict

the ESL pre-service teachers’ perceptions about integrating technology in

Libyan teacher preparation colleges?

4. Do demographic variables of age, gender, location, class type, command of

English level, prior teaching experience, and experience with technology predict

the ESL pre-service teachers’ PCK and TCK in Libyan teacher preparation

colleges?
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 20  

Design of the Study

The research design, which I am going to use in my study, is a survey design. This

correlational research design is appropriate in my context because it has the potential of

measuring the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. I need to determine

the extent to which teacher Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and teacher Technological

Content Knowledge (TPK) (i.e. independent variables) can predict teachers’ perceptions and

attitudes toward integrating technology (i.e. the dependent variables) of Libyan ESL pre-service

teachers when they become working teachers. I am going to administrate the survey during the

teaching practicum. Survey design would be feasible because it would allow me measure the

relationships between the ESL pre-service teachers’ technological knowledge and their attitudes

and perceptions toward using technology in their practice as training teachers. The changes in the

independent variables of TCK and PCK would predict the use of technology in the teacher

performance in the future of Libyan ESL teacher preparation courses.

This quantitative study will apply a correlational research design. An online survey

research will be used to collect data, which will be statistically analyzed to identify the

relationship between the Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ TPACK and their perceptions. This

student will be using an existing survey, which was developed by Koh, Chai1, and Tsai (2014).

They developed a survey instrument that aimed to examine “the constructivist-oriented TPACK

perceptions of 354 practicing teachers in Singapore” (p. 188).

For questions Q1 and Q2, the researcher will use inferential statistics analysis to measure

the regression between the study variables, as these two questions will measure the relationship

between two or more variables. However, descriptive data analysis will be used to extract

information to address questions Q3 and Q4. According to Creswell (2012), a regression analysis
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 21  

approach is used to describe and measure the relationship between two or more variables

(Creswell, 2012). For example, this approach will use hierarchical multiple regression to help in

finding the answer to Q2 and predict whether relationships exist among the pre-service teachers’

technological knowledge (TCK) (as a dependent variable), and the factors of perceptions and

attitudes (as independent variables).

Ethical Principles/ Human Subject Compliance

This study will be conducted in an ethical, moral and responsible manner and the

participants will have the right to decide when, to what extent their participation is continued

Creswell (2012). According to the requirements of the Institutional Review Board (IRB), this

student will apply to the NIU office of compliance for permission to collect data and conduct the

study procedures. Moreover, the researcher will make sure that the participants know their rights

and a consent form will be administrated before conducting the study.

To ensure privacy during data collection, the survey will be administered anonymously to

the target population. Moreover, the data will be stored on a password protected hard drive,

which belongs to the researcher and can only be accessible by him. Participation in the study is

voluntary and all the participants will be given a consent form to read and sign as an entry ti the

survey. The consent form will include an explanation of the research purpose and that they are

free to withdraw from the study at any time without being held responsible for any commitments.

As the survey is an electronic instrument, the consent form will be placed at the beginning of the

survey and the participants will have to sign it in an electronic format before answering any

survey questions. The instrument of the study is an existing survey and it will be used upon

permission from the original authors to use their survey after having modified it to the Libyan

context.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 22  

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The data, which this student is going to collect, will be used to answer the four research

questions of the study. Consequently, each question will be used to determine one aspect of the

research problem. For example, question number one will be used to identify the relationship

between the pre-service teachers’ technological and pedagogical knowledge (TCK & PCK) (as a

dependent variables), and their perceptions and attitudes (as independent variable). Actually, this

question will be the focus of the survey; i.e. the instrument of the study, and the data will be used

to measure statistically the relationship between these three variables and to test the following

hypotheses:

1. There is a positive relationship between the pre-service teachers’ technological

knowledge (TCK) and their perceptions and attitudes.

2. There is not a relationship between the pre-service teachers’ technological knowledge

(TCK) and their perceptions and attitudes.

3. There is a positive relationship between the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge

(PCK) and their perceptions and attitudes.

4. There is not a relationship between the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge

(PCK) and their perceptions and attitudes.

Variables

The social constructivist theory discussed above holds that the role of the teacher is to

facilitate construction of knowledge through active participation of the learner. A constructivist

teacher needs to use teacher knowledge to discover the learners’ prior experiences and to create

connections with target knowledge. Thus, the learner’s chances of developing new concepts and

internalizing the learning experiences are dependent on the pre-service teacher’s TPACK.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 23  

Therefore, social constructivist theory and Shulman’s (1986) TPACK model will be the guide for

the proposed research. TPACK is the most commonly used and tested theory in integration of

technology with instructional activities. Studies that assessed, tested, and measured TPACK or

studies that investigated the factors that control integrating technology in teacher preparation and

education all used this theory to underpin the research constructs (Foulger, et al., 2012; Gan,

2013; Neo, et al., 2013; Öz, 2015). The seven constructs of TPACK, which represent the

potential of teachers’ knowledge that can be developed by pre-service teachers to meet the

classroom practice requirement of strategies and skills. TK, PK, CK, PCK, TCK, and TPACK

are the total constructs of knowledge a pre-service teacher needs to grasp before he can practice

teaching in a classroom (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). For example, PCK is a construct that

indicates one of the elements that a pre-service teacher needs in order to be able to teach. Each

construct of TPACK can be separately broken down to some skills and activities, which a teacher

preparation program might include to orientate, train, assess and graduate a pre-service teacher.

Thus, PCK can be broken into the strategies of lesson planning, presentation skills, assessment,

mentoring, and scaffolding. Similarly, TCK can be divided to smaller aspects of owning

technology; using technological tools; operating, downloading and uploading of programs and

applications; creating learning opportunities with technology; assisting learners; communicating;

and even programing as well as making visual technology materials such as podcasts and videos.

In the proposed study, the two constructs of PCK and TCK will be employed as the

independent variables that will predict the dependent variables of attitudes and perceptions. The

dependent variable will be the pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions toward integrating

technology in the teaching practice sessions and later in the real classroom.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 24  

Also, this research will utilize demographic information (i.e. age, gender, years of

experience, and academic level) to see if these categories have an impact on pre-service teachers’

perceptions and attitudes toward using technology in teaching ESL classes in public schools. The

survey will consist of two sections; one section will ask participants for demographic

information. The second section will measure the pre-service teachers’ technological knowledge

(TCK) (as a dependent variable), and their perceptions and attitudes (as independent variables).

Population and Sample

The accessible population is about 550 Libyan pre-service ESL teachers. They are the

pre-service teachers, who are currently studying at education colleges in Tripoli University and

who, at the time of the study, are enrolled in the teaching practicum modules of teacher

preparation programs. The sampling for the study will be random and all the students will have

equal chances of participation in the study regardless for their age, gender or their technology

experience. The participants will receive the survey instrument electronically on their emails and

on the University of Tripoli Website. Before distributing the survey, the researcher will seek

permission from the Northern Illinois University Institutional Review Board (IRB) as well as

officials and administrative at Tripoli University.

Instrumentation

The research design for this study will be quantitative. The final survey consists of 32

items. The study participants will be asked to rate “each item on a seven-point Likert-type scale

where 1 - Strongly Disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - Slightly Disagree, 4 – Neither agree nor disagree,

5 - Slightly Agree, 6 - Agree, 7 - Strongly Agree.” (Koh, Chai1, & Tsai, 2014, p. 188). The 32

items of the questionnaire will be used for the collection of data, and its internal consistency will

be measured by using Cornbach’s coefficient alpha, which employs the statistical formula (a = <
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 25  

.05). The sample will contain 550 Libyan pre-service teachers. The sampling will cover the ESL

pre-service teachers in three colleges of education in Tripoli University, which is one of the

many state universities Libya. The sample will be representative of the target population of the

study since ESL pre-service teachers are part of the target population that includes all the pre-

service teachers in higher education institutions in Libya. The findings will be used to reveal the

predictors that control ESL pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward using technology in the ESL

classroom in Libyan pubic schools. Also the findings will be used to predict ESL pre-service

teachers’ attitudes and perceptions toward integrating technology in the teacher preparation

programs of Libyan ESL pre-service teachers.

Setting

University of Tripoli is the largest university in Libya. It is located in the capital city of

Libya (Tripoli), and it includes many colleges that serve different majors such as education,

medicine, dentistry, science, languages, arts, economics, etc. The university consists of 26

colleges for different academic majors such as science, math, languages, medicine, and social

sciences. It has four education colleges distributed geographically to cover the largest area of

student population. These colleges provide teacher preparation to Libyan students of higher

education to enable them to become teachers in different fields. Among the field that education

colleges serve is the ESL pre-service teachers preparation. In general, University of Tripoli

provides teacher preparation educational services to a student population of about 40,000 Libyan

students. All the students have to do teaching practicum as part of their teaching preparation to

be able to teach ESL in secondary and middle schools in Libya. The researcher is familiar with

this university because he has been working there as a lecturer for more than ten years. This

familiarity is one of the reasons behind the researchers choice of this institution to be the setting
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 26  

of the study. The survey will be electronically sent to all individuals identified as English

department faculty working in the colleges and schools of University of Tripoli, who will be

asked to help administrate the survey to their students and there will be and incentive to

encourage participation.

Participants

The purpose of the study will be to investigate the factors that predict the pre-service

teachers’ perceptions and attitudes in relation to variables of technological knowledge (TCK),

pedagogical knowledge (PCK), and their age, years of experience, academic position, and major

in which they teach. Also to identify whether males and females differ regarding their attitudes

and perceptions toward integrating technology. In total 550 Libyan ESL pre-service teachers will

be surveyed as an accessible population in order to represent the target population, which

contains all Libyan ESL pre-service teachers, who study at higher education colleges and

institutions in the state of Libya. The demographic data from the surveys will show the frequency

and percentages of female and male participants.

Validity

Since this study is utilizing a survey, which will be adopted from an existing study, the

researcher will conduct several procedures to insure validity and reliability. First, the researcher

will insure validity by piloting the survey to some Libyan ESL pre-service teachers in advance to

relate the instrument to the Libyan context and to avoid data collection bias. The sampling will

be random during the pilot practice in order to validate the survey through obtaining correct

results and valid data. Moreover, using a prior survey that is proved and validated in previous

research will strengthen both internal and external validity of the instrument.

This study is aimed at identifying the Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ perceptions
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 27  

toward integrating technology in teacher preparation courses in Libya. The study will examine

how teacher technological knowledge might influence ESL pre-service teachers’ attitudes and

perceptions toward using technology in the ESL classroom. Also, the analyses will determine

how demographic factors of gender, years of experience with technology, and class level affect

the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about integrating technology and what associations they

have with PCK and TCK of Libyan ESL pre-service teachers who are studying in teacher

preparation colleges in University of Tripoli.

The study incorporates the following variables: Libyan ESL pre-service attitudes and

perceptions (as dependent variables) and factors teachers’ TPACK (as independent variables), as

well as demographic factors of gender, years of experience with technology, and class level

affect the pre-service teachers’ perceptions about integrating technology (as other variables). To

ensure the validity of the study several steps will be taken to limit threats to both external and

internal validity. According to Creswell (2012), in educational research studies there are several

potential threats, which can be an issue to external and internal validity. Therefore, the researcher

will conduct a validity test by applying pilot study and experts in the field of research will be

asked to conduct validity checks in order to eliminate any threats to validity. In addition, x

colleagues and faculty at ETRA Department, College of Education, NIU will be asked to review

the questions control content validity. Finally, statistical analyses and SPSS procedures will also

be used in analyzing data to eliminate further threats to internal validity.

Reliability

Conducting statistical analyses is necessary for the reliability measures, as it will identify

any inconsistencies that might occur due to deviant or missing data. Both descriptive and

correlational analysis will be applied to the data using the cloud SPSS system at NIU. SPSS
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 28  

calculations of the mean, the standard deviation, Kurtosis, and Skewedness will be obtained to

maintain the reliability of the descriptive data of the study. In addition, normality will be

measured using the SPSS output distributions, multicolinearity, and normality residuals and

scatter plots.

Data Collection

This student proposes a quantitative design to investigate the development of Libyan pre-

service teachers’ TPACK. The study will incorporate a survey with three sections. Section I will

include demographic data of gender, years of experience with technology, and class level.

Section II is designed based on a seven point Likert-type scale that requires participants to select

from seven scale options: “1 - Strongly Disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - Slightly Disagree, 4 – Neither

agree nor disagree, 5 - Slightly Agree, 6 - Agree, 7 - Strongly Agree.” (Koh, Chai1, & Tsai,

2014, p. 188). This part will measure the pre-service teacher’s PCK. Section III will also utilize a

seven point Likert-type scale, which asks participants to select from seven scale options: “1 -

Strongly Disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - Slightly Disagree, 4 – Neither agree nor disagree, 5 -

Slightly Agree, 6 - Agree, 7 - Strongly Agree.” (Koh, Chai1, & Tsai, 2014, p. 188), to measure

the Libyan ESL pre-service teacher’s TCK.

The surveys will be prepared on Qualtrics and will be distributed electronically using the

participants’ emails and the Janzour college of Education Website. The email will include a brief

introduction and a link to Google Forms and it will be sent a month prior to the data collection

time line. Therefore, the participants will have one month to respond, and a reminder email will

be sent to the participants on their emails to draw their attention to the draw prize, which the

researcher is going to conduct at the end of successful completion of all the participations. The

demographic data section in each survey will be based on multiple choice items and open-ended
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 29  

questions. The other two sections of the survey are based on a Likert-scale with responses that

range from 1-7 with 1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree.

Description of Data Analysis Methods

As mentioned earlier, this research will be quantitative. For the data analysis, the student

will employ a repeated measures t-test and multiple regression analyses to analyze the data

collected from the survey. A repeated measures t-test approach is known for having more

advantages as a statistical method to describe the relationship between TCK and PCK on one

hand and teacher perceptions and attitudes on the other. This method is statistically reliable

because it allows researchers to examine two independent variables for the prediction of a single

dependent variable using the difference scores to answer questions about the target population

(Gravetter & Wallnau, 2014).

Furthermore, the statistical analyses will include a multiple regression technique. This

technique will be useful in describing how variances among the external factors such as age,

gender, location, academic level, English language skills, prior teaching experience, and

experience with technology vary in terms of their impact on the dependent variable, which is pre-

service teachers’ attitude. Scores, outputs, and graphical analyses will be presented by means of

histograms, tables, scatterplots, and correlation matrices of SPSS.

A regression analysis approach is used to describe and measure the relationship between

two or more variables (Creswell, 2012). Therefore, Q1, and Q2 will measure the relationship

between more than two variables, so the researcher will use inferential statistics analysis to

measure the regression between the study variables. In addition, statistical descriptive data will

be used to address Q3 and Q4. In this study, the procedures will utilize hierarchical multiple

regression to help in finding the answer the questions and predict whether relationships exist
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 30  

among the Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions toward using technology

(as a dependent variable), and the factors of PCK and TCK (as independent variables). To

answer Q1 and Q2, regression analysis will be applied to determine associations, relative

contributions and the extent of the relationship between the factors of PCK and TCK (as

independent variables) and the Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions

toward integrating technology (as a dependent variable). In addition, multiple regression analysis

will be used to examine whether Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions

toward using technology can be predicted by the five factors of constructivist technology use.

Results will be reported and presented as a final outcome of the study after all the calculations,

graphical analyses, and outputs have been approved for defending the dissertation.

Timeline

When
What How

June 2018 Defend Proposal Committee

Successful Defense of
August 2018 Submit IRB
Proposal

October 2018 -December

2018 Collect Data Electronic Survey

March 2019 -April 2019 Excel and SPSS

Export and Analyze data

August 2019 –October

2019 Write Chapters 4 and 5

November 2019
Defend Dissertation

March 2020 Graduation Committee Approval

Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 31  

Summary

In conclusion, this study will investigate the relationship between pre-service teachers’

TPACK and their performance as working teachers of English in the future. The study will

measure the teachers’ knowledge and ability to use technology in their practicum and their

classroom teaching. The study will show how two constructs of TPACK (PCK and TCK)

determine the success of newly appointed teachers in applying knowledge from their teaching

practice into real classroom teaching. This model will help measure pre-service teachers’

attitudes toward integrating technology. Quantitative research methodology will be used to

accomplish this study. The findings of the study will help teacher education programs in Libya

integrate technology into their syllabi and course work to meet the future requirements of

technological use in education.

This chapter presented the proposed methodology that might be used to answer the

research questions presented in this study. The research will utilize a descriptive correlational

research design that will survey a population of N = 550 ESL pre-service teachers studying in

education colleges in and around Tripoli. Data will be collected using an electronic survey

instrument, which will provide participants’ responses on the Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’

attitudes and perceptions toward using technology (as a dependent variable), and the factors of

PCK and TCK (as independent variables). Chapters 4 and 5 of the study will present the

findings and discussion of the results by means of the proposed methodology in this chapter.
Integrating technology in Libyan ESL pre-service teachers’ preparation program 32  

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