Despite many studies researching the increased use and potential effectiveness of mobile devices in secondary education (high school) classrooms, less research has examined teachers' perceptions around such use. Accordingly, this qualitative (phenomenological) study used semi-structured interviews to explore 10 secondary teachers' perceptions around the use of mobile devices in Costa Rican classrooms. Utilizing an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to analyze the data of participants' experiences, results from this study found (1) that Costa Rican secondary teachers had mixed perceptions about using mobile devices for the teaching and learning process and (2) that mobile devices seem a “double edge sword,” which, if not used appropriately in the classroom, can be more detrimental than beneficial for students' learning processes.
TopIntroduction
In general, the use of mobile devices in educational settings has provided more inclusive, meaningful, and quality education to students from different regions of the world (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2018). The need to support learners' digital skills development is pivotal for successfully navigating this highly connected and digitized world (UNESCO, 2018). Thus, the role that technological tools play in different educational settings to facilitate communication, access information, deliver information, and foster self-learning has dramatically influenced the academic arena (Crompton et al., 2017; UNESCO, 2018). In this case, the incorporation of information communication technologies (ICT) has been embraced within the educational policies for preparing learners to face the rapid technological changes in the world and to support socio-cultural and economic development (UNESCO, 2018).
In Costa Rica, ICT has a crucial role in the educational system (Ministry of Education of Costa Rica [MEP], 2020). In 2020, MEP established La Política Institucional de Tecnologías de Información del Ministerio de Educación Pública (The Institutional Policy of Information Technologies of the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica) to provide equal opportunities to all Costa Ricans for quality education, giving special attention to the citizens living in vulnerable and impoverished regions (MEP, 2020). According to the Institutional Policy of Information Technologies (IPIT), it is fundamental to promote the access, use, and appropriation of the ICT to transform the learning and teaching process that would positively impact the socio-economic progress of the country (MEP, 2020).
The IPIT encompasses three core dimensions that are the backbone of the policy: social, educational, and economic dimensions. In the social dimension, it is envisioned that information technologies (IT) narrow the digital gap and prepare Costa Rican citizens to face the digital world's demands. In the educative dimension, IT will provide the tools to support the teaching and learning processes, along with the administrative processes. Finally, in the economic dimension, it is giving great attention to the development of digital skill sets in learners, especially in secondary education (MEP, 2020).