This study examined the individual characteristics of pre/in-service teachers in South Korea and their understanding of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK). The results revealed an association between teachers' self-reported TPACK and teaching experience, and suggestions are provided for future graduate programs.
Recently, the South Korean government announced a self-regulated, motivated, adaptive, resource-enriched, and technology-embedded (SMART) education initiative to improve and develop the educational system (Choi & Lee, 2012). One way to assess teachers' knowledge and ability to integrate technology into their teaching is through the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, which is divided into seven sub-dimensions: technology knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technological pedagogical content knowledge. The purpose of this study was to identify individual characteristics of student teachers in South Korea to determine whether they affect teachers' TPACK knowledge. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers' technology integration practice and self-reported TPACK varied between different levels of teaching experience.
Seventy-three pre/in-service teachers who had taken graduate-level courses at a university in South Korea participated in the study, including both native and non-native teachers of English as a foreign language with various ethnic and learning/teaching backgrounds. As one of very few training grounds in South Korea that combines ELT (English Language Teaching) and MALL (Multimedia-Assisted Language Learning), the school in our study provides courses on the effective design and use of technology in language teaching. Data was collected through a self-assessment survey on TPACK that included open-ended questions. The quantitative data revealed that teachers' teaching experience was positively correlated with their pedagogical and technology-related knowledge. The qualitative data revealed some challenges and successful examples of integrating technology into language teaching. In sum, the results highlight the need for relevant training programs for teachers and provide suggestions for future graduate programs.
Choi, J. W., & Lee, Y. J. (2012). The status of SMART education in KOREA. Hypermedia and Telecommunications, 1, 175–178.
