Institutional influences on teachers’ classroom technology integration: a multi-case study of teachers’ uses of mobile social media at universities in China

ABSTRACT

This study explored teachers’ classroom integration of mobile social media at universities in China and how their technology integration was influenced by institutional factors from the perspectives of Activity Theory. A qualitative multi-case study approach was adopted to address the research question. Data were collected from multiple sources, including classroom observation, semi-structured interviews, and documents provided by the participants. Qualitative content analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Results showed that different types of universities exerted different institutional influences on teachers’ classroom technology integration in China, in terms of rules, community, and division of labour. The public university provided a more supportive environment for technology innovation than the private university did in this study. A framework for enhancing institutional impact on teachers’ technology use is proposed and suggestions for future research are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobile social media
• affordances
• institutional influences
• Activity Theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Project 985 is a “constructive project for funding world-class universities in the21st century conducted by the government of the People’s Republic of China”. (China Education Center, 2019)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sijia Xue

Sijia Xue is a post-doctoral fellow at Faculty of Education, University of Macau in China. He is also an Associate Professor at the College of Teacher Education, Southwest University in China. His research interests include mobile learning, online learning, social media, teacher development, and computer-assisted language learning.

Jianxia Du

Jianxia Du is a Professor at Faculty of Education, University of Macau in China and Zijiang Chair Professor of Faculty of Education at East China Normal University in China. Her research focuses on gender, race and class in education, educational technology, and online collaborative learning.

Yanchao Yang

Yanchao Yang is a PhD candidate at Faculty of Education, University of Macau in China. His research focuses on educational technology, technology supported language teaching and learning.