Phenomenology of Senior Faculty in Universidad de Zamboanga with the Use of Technology in Education
Maria Leah Mae A. Macrohon
Discipline: Teacher Training
Abstract:
This phenomenological research centered around five (5) purposely
sampled senior faculty of Universidad de Zamboanga and their experiences
with new technologies in education. This study defined senior faculty as
those who have been teaching for 20 years or more and focused on the
transitional experiences they had with the gradual integration of
technology in education and personal narratives with the abrupt shift to
new technologies during the COVID19 pandemic. The objectives of the
research were to narrate the first-person experience of UZ’s senior faculty
with the use of new technologies in education, clarify how the senior
faculty perceive the use of new technologies in education, identify the
factors in technology use that pose as challenges to senior faculty, explain
how the senior faculty handled these challenges with new technologies,
and enlist the responses the university may consider with regards to their
plight. This study was theoretically framed by Piaget’s Schema Theory, the
cognitive and behavioral viewpoints (in Psychology), transfer of learning,
and Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Three (3) themes and
their subthemes emerged from this study and were categorized as: the old
ways of getting things done, the challenges of new technologies for
education, and looking at the brighter side of things. Furthermore, this
study revealed that despite the challenges senior faculty experienced with
ICT in education and the distress caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, they still
perceived new technologies in a positive light, as these encouraged them
to be more adaptable to change. The senior faculty also believed that
although UZ has helped them adapt to new technologies, it could still
consider providing tailored training for them. This study concluded that no
amount of technology can replace the invaluable contributions of UZ senior
faculty, and their positive attitude towards these new technologies has
enabled them to remain resilient. The proposed intervention design
suggested by this research is a two-day seminar for senior faculty,following
a survey on ICT use in Education conducted by the university’s Management
Information Systems.
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