Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149

7th International Conference on Intercultural Education “Education, Health and ICT for a
Transcultural World”, EDUHEM 2016, 15-17 June 2016, Almeria, Spain

Teacher training in the use of ICT for inclusion: differences between

Early Childhood and Primary Education
Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino*
University of Jaén, Paraje “Las Lagunillas”, s/n. 23071. Spain

Abstract

The Spanish education system considers the principle of educational equity and inclusion as a way of ensuring equal opportunities
for students, serving as a compensatory approach that addresses personal, cultural, economic and social inequalities. Moreover, the
impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has led to changes in the teaching-learning process, taking into
account the principles of universal design and accessibility; this plays a key role in moving towards methodologies that enable
improvements in educational quality. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the perceptions that prospective Early Childhood and
primary teachers have about using ICT for inclusion in the ordinary classroom. An ad-hoc questionnaire was administered to a
sample of fourth-year students reading undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood and Primary Education at the Catholic University
of Murcia (n=231). Results demonstrated positive attitudes by university students towards the inclusion of pupils with special
educational needs using these types of learning resources. However, significant differences were observed in the “Professional
teacher development in ICT” dimension depending on the degree programme (Early Childhood or Primary), with more favourable
assessments reported by the first group. This has helped identify the teachers’ attitudes and teaching needs in the field of ICT in
order to improve training by making curriculum changes and by adapting the teaching-learning process to higher education
students.
© 2017
© 2016TheTheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
Keywords: teacher training, ICT, inclusive education, early childhood education, primary education

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34953211804.

E-mail address: mcpegala@ujaen.es

1877-0428 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.055
 Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149 145

1. Introduction

The OECD study entitled “Learning to Change: ICT in Schools” (2001) clearly demonstrates how ICT is changing
the face of education and the students’ learning experiences, seen as a priority when it comes to the education of pupils
with specific support needs (Lozano, Alcaraz & Bernabeu, 2012). Thus, we are dealing with “tools that enable
personal development, successful activity completion and enjoyment of situations that call on one’s own individuality,
as well as fully and actively participating in activities in one’s environment” (Chacón, 2007, p. 261). What is more,
devices of this type facilitate the development of varying forms of expression and knowledge enhancement, allowing
different processes to be developed in order to discover information and internalize concepts (Moss, Hay, Deppeler,
Astley & Pattison, 2007; Parker & Chao, 2007; Prensky, 2011).
ICT tools are enablers in the learning dynamic, in terms of not only content appropriation when developing students’
key competences, but also when creating appealing spaces that invite interaction and information exchange (Albion,
2008; Carvalhoy & Morais, 2011; Livingstone, 2012). These technology-based resources make it possible to tailor the
teaching-learning process to the characteristics, interests and needs to the student (Arnaiz, 2003; Luque, Rodríguez &
Romero, 2005), promoting their active participation to help reach the academic goals and achievement targets
previously established by the teaching professional (Mehlinger & Powers, 2002; Rose, Meyer & Hitchcock, 2005;
Vázquez & Sevillano, 2011), while facilitating individual, cooperative and interactive work in class (McFarlane,
Triggs & Ching, 2009), In turn, the space-time barriers are removed, thus enabling teacher-student communication
(Cabero & Llorente, 2008).
Understanding and analyzing how ICT has impacted on the school setting is an area of study that has garnered
considerable interest (Paredes, Guitert & Rubia, 2015). The teacher’s positive attitude towards the use of these devices,
as well as being suitably trained in their use and pedagogical possibilities, are the main factors behind the correct use
of ICT in educational settings (Ballesta & Céspedes, 2015). Furthermore, teachers’ commitment towards inclusive
education generates self-motivation, and it helps them to consolidate the application of varied methods, techniques
and strategies based on the use of ICT tools (Fernández, Reyes, Piñero & Japón, 2013).
Various research (Bozdogan & Özen, 2014; Roblizo & Cózar, 2015) has highlighted the favourable perceptions
held by student teachers concerning the frequent use of ICT in the classroom. In general terms, teachers show to be
suitably willing to take the necessary measures that allow for ICT to be properly implemented in the school setting,
although they regularly find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of responsibilities that come with
developing other improvements across the system, not to mention the lack of external reinforcements that support its
use in this environment (Marín & Romero, 2009). It is therefore not enough to simply include this technology in the
classroom; this must also be reflected in the curriculum and when developing new teaching approaches (Amar, 2008).
To achieve this, student teachers must receive robust training equipping them with the skills to pedagogically use
these tools to the best of their abilities (Davis, Preston & Sahin, 2009); this process should focus on the presentation
and exploration of software and devices as well as on promoting positive attitudes and teacher efficacy to successfully
transfer information to students (Gegenfurtner, 2011). From this perspective, and analyzing the established approach
in higher education, Pérez & Vílchez (2012) draw attention to the curriculum’s failure to include technology-based
subjects in initial teacher training; this should be addressed cross-curricular so that it encompasses digital competences
in different subjects and prompts the student to shift from a “digital user” to being “digitally competent” in the didactic
use of ICT tools in the inclusive classroom. As such, and as stated by Mir (2010), digital competence entails a
combination of knowledge, skills and abilities, together with values and attitudes, to effectively and efficiently meet
objectives using digital tools in digital contexts. Furthermore, Ortiz, Almazán, Peñaherrera & Cachón (2014) refer to
teacher training centred around the creative integration of ICT in the classroom, whereas Domingo & Marqués (2011)
deem the contextualization of teaching training to be essential in accordance with real needs, the exchange of
experiences and best practices, as well as developing cooperative and expert-led work.

2. Method

Taking into consideration the aforementioned studies and research, this study aimed to analyze the perceptions of
prospective teachers at early childhood and primary education stages regarding the use of ICT for inclusion in the
ordinary classroom. A further objective was to identify the presence of statistically significant differences in the
146 Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149

student teachers’ assessments of their professional development in ICT depending on whether we are dealing with
Early Childhood or primary education level.
To this end, the study population was defined as fourth-year students reading either Early Childhood or Primary
Education at the Catholic University of Murcia (Spain), with 231 students participating in the study by completing an
ad-hoc questionnaire. 79.1% of the sample are female, whereas 20.9% are male subjects; ages range from around 25
years in 85.1% of cases to 26 years and over in 14.9% of cases. 52.2% of the sample are students enrolled on a Early
Childhood Education Degree at the Catholic University of Murcia, whereas 47.8% are Primary Education Degree
students at the same university.
Data collection was conducted using the survey technique from the “Questionnaire on the perceptions of
prospective teachers on the use of Information Technology and Communication in developing inclusive practices”
(Pegalajar, 2015). This involves a Likert-type scale with responses ranging from 1 to 4 (1= totally disagree and 4=
completely agree) comprising 36 items distributed across four dimensions:
x Factor 1: Didactic implications of ICT for inclusive education (13 items)
x Factor 2: Professional teacher development in ICT (10 items)
x Factor 3: Teacher attitudes towards inclusion using ICT tools (7 items)
x Factor 4: Inclusive teaching practice using ICT (6 items)
This study presents the results corresponding to the second factor, that is, professional teacher development in the use
of these types of tools in the classroom. In order to perform data analysis, the statistical software IBM SPSS (version
21) was used, carrying out statistical analyses with significance set at p<.05.

3. Results

3.1. Prospective teachers’ perceptions of professional development in ICT usage.

The results of the descriptive analysis reveal favourable perceptions held by future teachers regarding the
contributing role that ICT can play in their professional development when it comes to inclusive education and
attention to students with specific support needs (Table 1). As such, students studying degrees in Early Childhood
education and primary education are of the opinion that tools of this kind in the classroom improve teachers’ digital
competence which can be put into practice (M=3.4; SD=0.67); this implies a methodological updating process
corresponding to teaching tasks (M=3.4; SD=0.672) which contributes to their professional development (M=3.33;
SD=0.682) and demands professional recognition by the competent authority (M=3.39; SD=0.669).
The prospective teachers surveyed reported that ICT tools foster curiosity among students about certain topics that
they deem interesting (M=3.33; SD=0.719), generating new communication channels and collaborative work among
teachers (M=3.3; SD=0.674) as well as reflexive and inquisitive participation models for classroom practice (M=3.08;
SD=0.73). To achieve this, the education authority needs to invest more money and provide more ICT-based materials
(M=3.32; SD=0.735); advice should also be available on how to search for, select and assess these tools in order to
develop the students’ teaching-learning process (M=3.31; SD=0.696) as well as specific training in ICT and inclusive
education (M=3.25; SD=0.716).

Table 1. Descriptive analysis of the factor “Professional teacher development in ICT”

M SD
Invites reflexive and inquisitive participation by teachers in the classroom 3.08 0.73
Requires teachers to have received specific training 3.25 0.716
Generates new communication channels and collaborative work among teachers 3.3 0.674
Requires advice on how to search for, select and assess ICT resources for the teaching-learning process 3.31 0.696
Requires more ICT-based materials and investment from the education authority 3.32 0.735
Fosters curiosity among students about certain topics 3.33 0.719
Contributes to professional teacher development 3.33 0.682
Requires professional recognition 3.39 0.669
 Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149 147

Implies a methodological updating process 3.4 0.672

Involves improving teachers’ digital competence 3.4 0.671

3.2. Statistically significant differences in Early Childhood and Primary Education students’ perceptions of
professional development

The Student’s t-test (comparison of means) has made it possible to identify the presence or not of statistically
significant differences between the questionnaire dimensions depending on whether the student is studying for a Early
Childhood or Primary Education degree. Furthermore, the t-test procedure for independent samples also gives us the
Levene’s test for equality of variances, allowing us to decide whether or not we are dealing with equal population
variances.
The results reveal statistically significant differences for the dimension linked to prospective teachers’ perceptions
about their professional development regarding the use of these tools in the classroom (t(220)=.726, p=.034), in contrast
to the didactic implications of ICT for inclusive education (t(215)=-.303, p=.165), teacher attitudes (t(219)=-1.614,
p=.144) and development of inclusive teaching practice using ICT (t(214)=-1.123, p=.565). What is more, when
comparing the students’ assessments according to the different educational stages in which they will be expected to
undertake their daily classroom tasks, more positive perceptions are observed among those studying for a degree in
Early Childhood Education. They should therefore put learning experiences into practice which are related to inclusive
approaches for students in the 0 to 5 age group.

Table 2. Variance analysis. T-test for independent samples.

Early
Primary
Sig. Childhood
Education
Education
Factor 1. Didactic implications of ICT for inclusive education .165 3.12 3.14
Factor 2. Professional teacher development in ICT .034* 3.33 3.28
Factor 3. Teacher attitudes towards inclusion using ICT tools .144 2.72 2.81
Factor 4. Inclusive teaching practice using ICT .565 3.02 3.09
*p<.05

4. Discussion

This study has made it possible to analyze prospective teachers’ perceptions about their professional development
regarding the use of ICT for inclusive classroom practice and in offering an educational response to students with
specific support needs. From this perspective, and following the analysis of the obtained results, positive assessments
by future teachers at early childhood and primary education stages have been confirmed. This has important
consequences for teaching practice and the education system as a whole, as it affects day-to-day classroom tasks as
well as the educational response given to students with educational needs. What is more, the findings of this study
support those of previous research (Bozdogan & Özen, 2014; Roblizo & Cózar, 2015) which adress student teachers’
positive perceptions towards frequent ICT usage in a classroom setting.
Those surveyed understand how the use of these tools in an inclusive school context fosters reflexive teaching
practice, generating new communication channels and teamwork, methodological updating and improvements in
digital competence. These assessments coincide with the view expressed by Chacón (2007), who explains how ICT
tools are well-placed to encourage personal development in students with educational needs, and when it comes to
them carrying out activities and activity participating in their environment. It could therefore be described as a process
that involves specifying and adapting the teaching-learning process to the students’ profile (Arnaiz, 2003; Luque,
Rodríguez & Romero, 2005).
However, student teachers acknowledge that there is a need to undertake specific training in ICT and receive
guidance in order to use these tools appropriately, and for the education authority to invest more and promote
professional recognition in this area. Thus, and as Ballesta and Céspedes (2015) argue, being suitably trained in the
148 Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149

use and pedagogical possibilities of ICT is one of the main factors behind its usage in an inclusive context; teacher
training needs to make the right to learn for the entire school population a reality, geared towards helping students
develop the key competences (Valdés, Bolívar & Moreno, 2015).
When assessing the differences from a statistical standpoint, students taking Early Childhood Education were
shown to report some more positive assessments about their professional development in ICT usage with reference to
inclusive practice in comparison to their Primary Education peers. This could be due to their own personal attitudes
as well as to any first-hand experience they may have acquired during the teaching-learning process across compulsory
education. Furthermore, and when considering the different curricula for the Early Childhood and Primary Education
degree programmes, the students enrolled in Early Childhood Education may have accumulated more ICT-based
learning experiences than their Primary Education counterparts, with more focus on understanding the didactics and
procedures to assist in the teaching-learning processes across the different subjects.
There are, however, limitations to this study. The use of the questionnaire can lead to sincerity and social
desirability problems among those surveyed. What is more, by inviting only students studying Early Childhood
Education and Primary Education at the Catholic University of Murcia to participate in this study is a limiting factor
when generalizing the data to other populations. For this reason, future research would involve widening the sample,
by studying the perceptions of ICT held by student teachers from other universities (public and private) and across
different educational levels, as argued by De Moya & Cózar (2013):
“it is more than justified to include digital competence in curricula pertaining to different educational levels, given
that the students, a reflection of their time, are loyal users of technology, but they are not competent in the use and
handling of ICT. As such, there is a great need to equip them with the skills to become digitally competent in all
aspects and activities of their adult life. And, in this respect, the school and teachers play a vital role” (p.10).

References

Albion, P.R. (2008). Web 2.0 in teacher education: two imperatives for action. Computers in the Schools, 25 (3), 181-198. doi: 10.1080 /
07380560802368173
Amar, V.M. (2008). Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación, Sociedad y Educación. Sociedad, e-herramientas, profesorado y alumnado.
Madrid: Editorial Tebar.
Arnaiz, P. (2003). Educación Inclusiva: Una escuela para todos. Archidona: Aljibe.
Ballesta, J. y Céspedes, R. (2015). Los contenidos de Tecnología Educativa en las titulaciones de grado de las universidades españolas. Revista
Latinoamericana de Tecnología Educativa, 14(1), 133-143. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17398/1695-288X.14.1.133
Bozdogan, D. & Özen, R. (2014). Use of ICT Technologies and factors affecting pre-service ELT Teachers´ perceived ICT self-efficacy. TOJET:
The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 13(2), 186-196.
Cabero, J. & Llorente, M. (2008). La alfabetización digital de los alumnos. Competencias digitales para el siglo XXI. Revista Portuguesa de
Pedagogía, 42 (2), 7-28.
Carvalho, L. & Morais, E. (2011). Aprender com as TIC. En Actas da Conferencia Ibérica em inovação na Educação com TIC (pp. 453-454).
Bragança: Instituto Politécnico de Bragança.
Chacón, A. (2007). La atención a la diversidad con medios tecnológico-didácticos. En J.A. Ortega y A. Chacón (coords). Nuevas tecnologías para
la educación en la era digital (pp. 262-278). Madrid: Pirámide.
Davis, N., Preston, C. & Sahin, I. (2009). ICT teacher training: Evidence for multilevel evaluation from a national initiative. British Journal of
Educational Technology, 40(1), 135-148.
De Moya, M. V., Hernández, J. A., Hernández, J. R., & Cózar, R. (2011). Análisis de los estilos de aprendizaje y las TIC en la formación personal
del alumnado universitario a través del cuestionario REATIC. Revista de Investigación Educativa, 29(1), 137-156.
Domingo, M. & Marqués, P. (2011). Aulas 2.0 y uso de las TIC en la práctica docente. Comunicar, 37 (2), 169-175. Doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3916/C37-2011-03-09
Fernández, J.M., Reyes, M., Piñero, R. & Japón, D. (2013). Docentes para la inclusión educativa. Comunicación presentada a las XXX Jornadas
de Universidades y Educación Especial y el X Congreso Internacional de Educación Inclusiva: «Desafíos y respuestas creativas». Zaragoza:
Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad.
Gegenfurtner, A. (2011). Motivation and transfer in professional training: A meta-analysis of the moderating effects of knowledge type, instruction,
and assessment conditions. Educational Research Review, 6, 153–168. Doi: 10.1016 / j.edurev.2011.04.001
Livingstone, S. (2012). Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education. Oxford Review of Education, 38 (1), 9-24. doi: 10.1080 /
03054985.2011.577938
Lozano, J., Alcaraz, S. & Bernabeu, M. (2012). Competencias emocionales del alumnado con trastornos del espectro autista en un aula abierta
específica de Educación Secundaria. Aula Abierta, 40(1), 15-26.
Luque, D.J, Rodríguez, G. & Romero, J.F. (2005). Accesibilidad y Universidad. Un estudio descriptivo. Intervención Psicosocial, 14 (2), 209-222.
Marín, V. & Romero, Mª A. (2009). La formación docente universitaria a través de las TIC. Pixel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación, 35, 97-103.
 Mª del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 144 – 149 149

McFarlane, A., Triggs, P. & Ching, W. (2009). Researching mobile learning: Overview. Septiembre 2006 a Septiembre 2008. BECTA. Disponible
en: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1473/1/becta_2009_mobilelearning_summary.pdf (consultado el 3 de Marzo de 2016).
Mehlinger, H.D. & Powers, S.M. (2002). Technology and Teacher Education: A guide for Educators and Policymakers. Boston (USA): Houghton
Mifflin.
Mir, B. (2010). Competencias digitales: Conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes para la sociedad red. Servei de Tecnologies per a l’Aprenentatge
i el Coneixement, Barcelona: UIMPB.
Moss, J., Hay, T., Deppeler, J., Asley, L. & Pattison, K. (2007). Student researchers in the middle: using visual images to make sense of inclusive
educations. Special issue: International Images Inclusion. Journal of Research in Special Education Needs, 7(1), 46-54. Doi: 0.1111 / j.1471-
3802.2007.00080.x
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2001). Learning to Change: ICT in Schools. París: OCDE.
Ortiz, A., Almazán, L., Peñaherrera, M. & Cachón, J. (2014). Formación en TIC de futuros maestros desde el análisis de la práctica en la universidad
de Jaén. Píxel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación, 44, 127-142. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/pixelbit.2014.i44.09
Palomino, M. C. P. (2015). Diseño y validación de un cuestionario sobre percepciones de futuros docentes hacia las TIC para el desarrollo de
prácticas inclusivas. Pixel-Bit: Revista de medios y educación, 47, 89-104.
Paredes, J., Guitert, M. y Rubia, B. (2015). La innovación y la tecnología educativa como base de la formación inicial del profesorado para la
renovación de la enseñanza. Revista Latinoamericana de Tecnología Educativa, 14(1), 101-114. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17398/1695-
288X.14.1.101
Parker, K.R. & Chao, J.T. (2007). Wiki as a teaching tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects, 3, 57-72.
Pérez, F. & Vilchez, J.E. (2012). El uso de los videojuegos y redes sociales como predictores de la integración curricular de las TIC en estudiantes
de Magisterio. Sphera Pública, 12, 199-215.
Prensky, M. (2011). Enseñar a nativos digitales. Madrid: SM.
Roblizo, M. J. & Cózar, R. (2015). Usos y competencias en TIC en los futuros maestros de Educación Infantil y Primaria: hacia una alfabetización
tecnológica real para docentes. Pixel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación, 47, 23-39. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/pixelbit.2015.i47.02
Rose, D., Meyer, A. & Hitchcock, C. (2005). The Universally Designed classroom: accessible curriculum and digital technologies. Cambridge:
Harvard Education Press.
Valdés, R., Bolívar, A. & Moreno, A. (2015). Una valoración de la formación inicial de profesores en España: El Máster en Educación Secundaria.
Educaçao em Revista, 31, 251-278.
Vázquez, E & Sevillano, Mª.L. (2011). Educadores en Red. Elaboración de los Materiales audiovisuales para la enseñanza. Madrid: Ediciones
Académicas-UNED.