Qatar Learning Management Project: Exploration of factors influencing secondary school teachers’ practices

Jamali, Saoud (2021) Qatar Learning Management Project: Exploration of factors influencing secondary school teachers’ practices. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

School education in the information age has adopted a number of e-learning technologies that are believed to enhance teaching and learning practices and equip students with the skills to manage the challenges of their future workplaces. One of these e-learning technologies is the Learning Management System (LMS). Teachers in Qatar secondary schools use this system through an online portal to connect with students, parents, school administration and policy makers. The LMS has introduced many new functionalities for teachers; however, integrating such technologies in educational contexts is complex, and there is a need to better understand the factors that influence teachers’ LMS practices. This study aimed to add to the understandings of e-learning systems LMS by exploring factors influencing teacher’s LMS practices in secondary stage school context in Qatar.
This study utilised an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, starting with qualitative data collection in the form of semi-structured interviews that were thematically analysed. Based on the findings of the qualitative phase, the instrument for the quantitative phase was developed. The quantitative phase used an online questionnaire that was analysed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis.
The results showed that four important factors were hindering teachers’ LMS integration: MoEd policies, students and parents, IT lab classes, and LMS design and usefulness. Some minor differences were found between more and less experienced teachers, and between science teachers and teachers of other subjects; however, these differences did not affect the overall hindering influence that the identified factors had on teachers’ LMS integration. Five supporting factors were also explored: the use of tablets, MoEd support, LMS functions, personal factors related to individual teachers and the school administration. This study contributes to our understanding of teachers’ behaviour regarding technology integration and highlights important areas of development for better LMS integration into teachers’ practice. The study contributes new empirical data to the field of technology use in the school education context and proposes a novel framework to describe LMS use in Qatar.

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