Technology in university teaching: An exploratory research into TPACK, proficiency, and beliefs of Education faculty

This study addresses the issue of technology integration in higher education, with the aim to explore the level of integration of technology, pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) in university professors, and two specific factors affecting technology integration, namely: proficiency and beliefs on technology use. Forty-seven participants – professors teaching in Primary Teacher Education courses at three universities, in the north, centre and south of Italy – were involved. They were surveyed through a questionnaire on self-evaluation of proficiency in technology use for academic purposes, TPACK, and beliefs on benefits of technology use. The main results of the study reveal: professors’ high proficiency in commonly used technologies, but low proficiency in new or dedicated technologies; some weaknesses in knowledge domains involving technology; positive beliefs on benefits regarding technology use in academic teaching, regardless of the degree of proficiency declared. These findings suggest the need to train university professors, fostering proficiency, which is a prerequisite for technology integration, capitalizing on the positive beliefs on technology that affect integration process and giving them the opportunity to build their courses integrating technology, pedagogy and content. At the same time research results suggest a finer tuning of instruments to provide deeper insights into the problematic aspects that have emerged.