INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO ART CLASSROOMS: DOES THE MALAYSIA VISUAL ART EDUCATION TEACHERS READY?

Abstract

Today’s students are the generation who grow up with technologies. It is believed that the new environment brought by technologies have changed the education atmosphere. The restructuring of teachers’ pedagogical processes to suit the new environment has brought new challenges to their roles. In response to the need for teachers to make a paradigm shift to ensure successful integration of technology, this study set out to examine the current uptake of technology among Malaysian Visual Art Education (VAE) teachers. In light of this consideration, it also sought to determine factors that might influence the effective integration of technology, particularly by the Malaysian VAE teachers. Self-reported data were gathered from 296 VAE teachers in Selangor, Malaysia. Findings revealed that Malaysian VAE teachers’ uptake of technology was limited to its basic applications, thus indicates their moderate level of technology integration. Findings from the study also demonstrate that social supports and facilities provided for teachers have significantly influence their technology integration. On the basis of these findings, the implication for theory development, practices and policy making are discussed in the paper.