Teachers' use of technology and its influencing factors in Korean elementary schools

Until now, research on technology integration in K-12 settings focused on revealing factors that influence technology use in the classroom by teachers has not paid much attention to what teachers recognise and why they incorporate technology in the classroom. Thus, this study aims to investigate how teachers recognise important factors that influence quality technology integration and how teachers use technology in Korean schools, using closed- and open-ended items and verbatim quotes of teachers' responses to a series of open-ended questions. The results indicate that teachers' use of technology in practice is affected by the multidimensional characteristics of schools; hence, support of technology use therein should be improved. Teachers' aptitude, disposition and attitudes toward technology are the most important factors for ICT-related instruction. Additionally, the answers given by the cohort to the open-ended questions help to explain the specific educational context in the Republic of Korea. Teachers report using technology largely because it provides personal convenience; additionally, the use of third-party content providers' websites by teachers emerges as a substantial issue in the area of technology integration in the classroom.