Student-teachers' Pedagogical Reasoning in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Design Tasks: a Cross- Country Multiple Case Study in Initial Teacher Education Institutions

Teachers' professional expertise is based on (but not limited to) a complex, multifaceted and situated professional knowledge, in this dissertation identified in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework. Literature has widely investigated the interconnections between TPCK and tacit non-rational underpinnings - in this dissertation identified in the construct of dispositions - when it comes to integrating technologies into teaching practices. Furthermore, a successful technology integration, supported by strong knowledge bases and positive dispositions, implies specific decision-making processes to be enacted - in this dissertation identified in the construct of pedagogical reasoning. Hence, it is crucial to investigate how teachers reason professionally about integrating technologies, e.g. in a core teaching practice such as designing a learning unit. Whereas quite broad is the literature on the efficacy of engaging student-teachers in design tasks supporting dispositions and TPCK's improvement, it is still unclear if and how these tasks can engage some sort of pedagogical reasoning. The present dissertation reports on a research carried out at pre-service level to investigate how TPCK-informed design tasks may engage student-teachers in pedagogical reasoning, considering their implicit dispositions on the matter of technology integration in education. The ultimate aim of the research is to provide empirical evidence for a better understanding and fostering of reasoned technology-integrated teaching practices, to the service of initial education programmes, scholars and practitioners. Given the complexity of the phenomenon and the contextual influence on it (i.e. the specific pre-service academic strategies used), this research takes the form of a multiple case study engaging three Higher Education institutions across Europe, in their Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes (N=345). The multiple case study included the implementation of several instruments for data collection, namely (1) observation, (2) documentation, (3) focused interviews and (4) a pre-/post - questionnaire. The reader will find both case-specific and cross-case analyses of the phenomenon at study. Overall, the emerging findings would suggest ITE's strategies fair efficacy in supporting student-teachers' knowledge bases and dispositions toward technology integration, both powerful and positive enablers for future behaviours. On the other hand, notwithstanding the case-specific strengths, findings suggest that part of the student-teachers' reasoning processes for technology integration in design tasks, may find its roots elsewhere. The conclusions of the present research would suggest the need for further investigation of the phenomenon.