Technology-mediated Physical Education teaching practices in Tunisian public schools: a national teacher survey

ABSTRACT

Despite the worldwide increase in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Physical Education (PE) over the past two decades, little is yet known about how these technological aids are being considered and used by PE teachers in developing countries. This study investigated Tunisian PE teachers’ technological competencies, the rate at which they use ICTs and their perspectives towards the integration of digital technologies (DigiTech) in their teaching practices. A total of 424 PE teachers serving in public schools across Tunisia were surveyed using the online platform Google Forms. Participants responded to an edited version of the ‘Quick Teacher Technology Survey’ questionnaire. The statistical analysis relied on measures of central tendency (median ‘x̄’ and mean ‘x̃’) and spread (standard deviation ‘SD’ and inter-quartile range ‘IQR’). Overall, Tunisian PE teachers appreciated the importance of technological competencies (x̃ = 2–3), yet, reported having weak capacities in this area (x̃ = 1–2). Their usage rate of ICTs for teaching turned out to be very low (x̃ = 1–4). Nevertheless, positive perspectives were expressed for the integration of ICTs in PE teaching. Tunisian PE teachers supported the fact that ICTs can enhance students’ learning experiences (x̃ = 3–4) and teachers’ didactic and pedagogical skills (x̃ = 3–4). However, there was apprehension regarding the disciplinary and ethical outcomes of integrating ICTs into PE classrooms (x̃ = 3). This study was also an opportunity for Tunisian PE teachers to raise concerns about the lack of support and training to keep up with the technological changes underway in the sector (x̃ = 4). In conclusion, the positive opinions and attitudes shown by Tunisian PE teachers towards ICTs as educational tools could pave the way for improvements in their digital literacy and, in turn, an increase in their usage rate of those tools if provided with the appropriate technological resources and training.

KEYWORDS:

• Information and communication technology
• digitech
• technological knowledge
• developing countries
• online survey

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank the Tunisian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for authorizing our research team to carry out this survey. Also, special thanks go to all PE teachers from across the country who generously shared their time and experience for the purposes of this study.

Disclosure statement

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