ePortfolios in craft education at the primary level - Teachers’ experiences on ICT integration

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆

The Finnish National Core Curriculum (NCC) effective from autumn 2016 requires ICT competence across primary grades and encourages pupils to document their craft learning processes. Teachers face barriers to integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into craft education, particularly through electronic portfolios (ePortfolios). This autoethnographic study reports qualitative analysis of field notes, video recordings, and interviews from a craft ICT integration project with 43 third-grade pupils in Finland.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Context and curriculum background

ePortfolios and prior research

Study setting and multimodality

ePortfolios in craft education at the primary level: Teachers’ experiences on ICT integration Virva Törmälä, Tampere University, Finland Abstract The Finnish National Core Curriculum (NCC), which took effect at the primary school level in autumn 2016, includes ICT competence for all school grades, and encourages pupils to document their working processes in crafts. However, the literature provides evidence of the barriers faced by teachers in integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into teaching. This paper is shaped as an autoethnography, and its purpose is to share the challenging experiences of primary school teachers involved in the integration of technology in an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) project in craft education with 43 third-grade pupils in a Finnish primary school context. Research data – field journal notes, video recordings and interviews – were analysed qualitatively, relying on Ertmer’s conceptual framework on ICT barriers (1999) and five main categories were reported, which are ‘Inadequate software/hardware’,‘Learner group attributes’,‘Allocation of responsibility’,‘Lack of resources’ and ‘Teacher attributes’. Based on the results, the study discusses the challenges of integrating ICT into craft education in primary level. Keywords ePortfolio, primary school, digitalisation, craft education, ICT barriers, multimodality Introduction The aim of the present study was to examine the challenging experiences of primary schoolteachers involved in the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in craft education. Digital documentation, in the form of electronic portfolios (hereafter ePortfolios), was conducted by third graders based on their crafts artefacts. Craft education, an obligatory school subject in Finland, is an important part of Finnish basic education and has a 150-year long history in the Finnish school system (Saarinen et al., 2016) . According to the Finnish National Core Curriculum (NCC) for Basic Education, the subject craft education in comprehensive school encompasses various techniques, such as sawing and crocheting, technology education, and design (NCC, 2016, p. 434) . Furthermore, the craft education contributes to implementation of digital documentation, since the NCC (2016, pp. 436-437) encourages pupils to use the digital technology, and to document their working processes. An ePortfolio at simplest is an electronic collection of authentic evidence showing one’s learning journey (Barrett, 2010; Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005) . According to Nicolaidou (2013) ePortfolios show great potential in supporting students’ writing performance and facilitating peer feedback. An ePortfolio can have various roles in schools, including as a storage space for documentation, an assessment tool, a peer feedback channel and a process-and developmentreporting tool (Saarinen et al., 2016; Nicolaidou, 2013) . The empirical research on using ePortfolios has so far focused on secondary and higher education levels, whereas ePortfolio use in primary level education is limited (Kuan-Cheng et al., 2006; Nicolaidou, 2013) . Furthermore, only a few studies have focused on usage of ePortfolios in primary level craft education. Saarinen et al., (2016) have studied pupils’ experiences using ePortfolio method in primary level craft education, and Saarinen et al., (2019) concentrated on the content of the ePortfolios, likewise, in primary level craft education. More studies are needed to confirm skills and knowledge needed in ePortfolio creation at each age (Saarinen et al., 2019) . Furthermore, teachers’ experiences in this kind of research setting are rare. In this autoethnographic study, I investigated an ePortfolio project for third graders (pupils aged 9–10 years), in which the pupils created digital multimodal content in the form of ePortfolios based on their crafts artefacts, using desktop and tablet computers (Apple iPads) ina classroom setting in south

FAQs

What curriculum requirement connects ICT and craft education in the study?

The Finnish National Core Curriculum includes ICT competence for all primary grades and encourages pupils to document their working processes in crafts.

How was ePortfolio work carried out with the pupils?

Third graders created digital multimodal content in electronic portfolios based on their craft artefacts, using desktop and tablet computers in a classroom setting in southern Finland.

Which types of ICT barriers were identified in the analysis?

The study reports five main categories: inadequate software/hardware, learner group attributes, allocation of responsibility, lack of resources, and teacher attributes.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆