Explanatory model of barriers to integration of digital technologies in higher education institutions

Abstract

Digital technologies are powerful resources that have not been globally integrated in higher education teaching. Previous studies have pointed out several barriers that can slow down this integration. This study, therefore, aims to elaborate an explanatory model of the barriers to digital technology integration into university teaching, including both links between them and between social and demographic factors that may be influencing them. Through a mixed method approach, a multiple case study with a sample of 527 teachers was developed in Spain. The results show that there are seven main barriers to technology integration: technophobia, lack of time, absence of planning, lack of incentives, lack of evaluation, work saturation, and university accreditation model. The model will help organizations and teachers to identify both the specific barriers and their linkages to other factors. Thus, they will be able to carry out improvements regarding the integration of digital technologies in higher education.