Strategies adopted by South African teachers to overcome challenges associated with technology integration in rural schools

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo

Qualitative research investigates strategies used by South African grade 9 teachers in rural village secondary schools to address barriers to technology integration. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and a case study design, the study applies diffusion of innovation theory and uses interviews for data collection. Twelve purposively selected teachers from Bojanala District in the North-West Province participate, with thematic analysis guiding findings. Results show teachers accept technology, perceive added instructional value, and develop specific strategies to address infrastructural and support challenges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Challenges in technology integration

The study approach

Findings and implications

OPEN ACCESS Research Article Contemporary Educational Technology, 2026, 18(2), ep639 ISSN: 1309-517X (Online) Strategies adopted by South African teachers to overcome challenges associated with technology integration in rural schools Nduduzo Brian Gcabashe 1* 0000-0002-1919-3370 Abueng Rachael Molotsi 1 0000-0002-4910-2265 1 University of South Africa, Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA * [Corresponding author:](Corresponding author: gcababn@unisa.ac.za)[ gcababn@unisa.ac.za](Corresponding author: gcababn@unisa.ac.za) Citation: Gcabashe, N. B., & Molotsi, A. R. (2026) . Strategies adopted by South African teachers to overcome challenges associated with technology integration in rural schools. Contemporary Educational Technology, 18(2), ep639 . [https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18055](https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18055) ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT | Received: 23 Sep 2024
Accepted: 12 Nov 2025
INTRODUCTION | Teachers in different contexts continue to integrate technology into their classrooms to enhance their instructional practices. However, teachers in rural villages encounter several challenges when incorporating technology in their classrooms. Therefore, this qualitative study explores the strategies adopted by teachers in schools in rural villages to overcome the challenges associated with technology integration. This study is located within the interpretive paradigm and a case study research design was adopted. The diffusion of innovation theory was employed as the theoretical lens of this study, while interviews were used to collect the data. Twelve grade 9 teachers from the secondary schools in Bojanala District in the North-West Province were selected purposefully. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The study revealed that teachers devised different strategies to overcome challenges they encounter when integrating technology into their classrooms. From this, the study concluded that teachers have accepted technology and that it adds value to their classroom instruction, hence they devise strategies to overcome the challenges associated with technology integration. Based on this, the study recommends that the government should intervene and eliminate the infrastructural challenges that teachers encounter when integrating technology into their classrooms. The study also suggests that schools should adopt peer mentoring in order to entrench technology integration among the teachers.
Keywords: challenges, instructional practices, strategies, teachers, technology integration | | --- | --- | The integration of technology in teaching and learning continues to gain traction in both urban and ruralbased schools. This has resulted in technological integration in education being a need rather than a choice for many teachers (Onyema, 2020) . Consequently, many teachers make strides to integrate technology into their classrooms to enhance their instructional practices. Policymakers also encourage teachers to integrate technology in their classrooms to enhance their pedagogical practices. They regard technology integration asa strategy to access educational resources and ensure quality of education (Herodotou, 2018) . In other words, policymakers believe that technology integration plays a role in ensuring access to quality education for all learners. This is because technology offers different resources including application programs for teaching and learning (Zamir & Ali, 2023), which make it easy for teachers to access educational resources that they can integrate into their classrooms. Furthermore, as Souheyla (2019) observes, technology integration is acclaimed for supporting the constructivist approach to teaching–where the teacher creates a learning environment that promotes learner participation in learning activities. Nkengbeza et al. (2022) stress that technology integration enables learners to take control of their own learning by engaging with the content via technological tools.

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study on technology integration?

The study explores strategies adopted by teachers in rural village secondary schools to overcome challenges related to technology integration in classroom instruction.

What research approach and theory guide the study?

The study uses an interpretive paradigm with a case study design, and diffusion of innovation theory provides the theoretical lens.

What did the study conclude about teachers’ use of technology?

Teachers accepted technology and viewed it as adding value to classroom instruction, leading them to devise strategies to address integration challenges.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo