Mobile devices and students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities: investigating Saudi teachers’ usage, knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of benefits and barriers

Abstract

Students with intellectual disabilities, by definition, experience significant cognitive delays and impediments in functional and adaptive skills, which can result in academic difficulties. With the rise of mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, iPads, and iPods as educational tools in classrooms, evidence indicates that the use of mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities results in a variety of beneficial educational outcomes. Saudi Arabia’s educational policies and initiatives signal a strong belief in the importance of using technology such as mobile devices in schools, and the government has committed large amounts of money, time, and effort to integrate new technologies in order to provide high-quality education for all students, including students with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, despite this rhetoric, little is known about Saudi teachers’ usage of mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities, teachers’ knowledge about or attitudes towards such usage, or their perception of benefits of or barriers to using mobile devices with this group of students. With emerging evidence of the positive impact of mobile devices in enhancing learning outcomes for students with intellectual disabilities, furthering our understanding of these issues becomes paramount. Consequently, this study had eight aims. Initially, the aims were to: (1) determine the validity and reliability of three newly constructed or adapted scales in Saudi Arabia; (2) investigate Saudi teachers’ usage of mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities; (3) investigate Saudi teachers’ self-reported technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge about using mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities; (4) investigate Saudi teachers’ attitudes towards using mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities; (5) identify teachers’ perceptions of benefits and barriers associated with the use of mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities; and (6) explore the relationships between Saudi teachers’ usage of mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities, and their self-reported knowledge about and attitudes towards such usage. As a result of the sequential design adopted, two further aims arose, namely to: (7) understand the pedagogical strategies implemented when using mobile devices with students with intellectual disabilities; and (8) identify factors that influence teachers’ attitudes towards and usage of mobile devices. The findings of the current study informed important recommendations for educational policy, resourcing, and practice in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Recommendations have been made regarding the need to improve and support the educational ecosystem through funding, leadership, and equity in policy between general education and special education. The Ministry of Education is urged to develop a clear vision and formulate appropriate policies and resources to support teachers in increasing the use of mobile devices in order to advance the educational achievement of a vulnerable group of students—those with intellectual disabilities.

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Danielle Tracey (Supervisor)