The role of information technology on the professional growth of secondary school teachers

Dissertation for Master's Degree in Educational Planning

Abstract:

Information technology is an emerging and progressing science that every year we witness the presence of this science in various fields and important news about the influence of this science in human life. The presence of knowledge and education is also one of these fields that has not been without the impact of information technology, especially computers and the Internet. became. The research plan is a survey research and the statistical population includes all teachers teaching in the 18th region and the sample includes 100 teachers who were selected in a multi-stage cluster and participated in the research. In order to evaluate the relationship between information technology and teachers' professional growth, the information technology and education questionnaire that was developed by a researcher was used. This test included four sections (teachers' growth, students' growth, teaching and learning methods, and finally teacher-student interaction). It had acceptable validity and reliability. Analyzing the results of the data obtained through one-sample T-test and one-way analysis of variance showed that information technology has a strong relationship with educational variables (teachers' growth, students' growth, teaching methods and finally teacher-student interaction) and information technology from the teachers' point of view. Also, there was no difference between the teachers of the three branches (mathematical, experimental, and human) and all these teachers agree that information technology and educational variables are related to each other. Today, all schools, especially smart schools, are intermingled with information technology. Also, the macro-educational system and macro-educational planning of the country should be planned considering this relationship in order to provide a suitable platform for the growth and promotion of teachers through information technology. Calculation and reasoning have gone beyond and the teaching of information technology skills has formed the heart and core of many education systems in the world. The integration of information and communication technology in the education system of the country, in addition to cultural, economic, social, value and technology considerations, requires careful and scholarly, informed and comprehensive preparation. Since the institutionalization of information and communication technology in the education system of the country requires passing through the stages of idea transfer, creation, absorption and localization and documentation. Therefore, the role of teachers in its application and use is an inevitable role (Ahmadian Rad 1386).

In the third millennium AD, information has been proposed as the main pillar of the power of civilizations. History is proof that man has gone through three main stages on the way of his civilization, and each of these stages has represented the power of civilization. In an era of land expansion and agricultural development, then factories and industries, currently information and related technology are considered to be the most basic foundations of civilization in the third millennium. The production, processing, distribution and application of information is one of the most important indicators of this civilization (Norainejad. 2013).

It is said that today information about more things and at a faster rate is available to more people than before (Alegh Band. 2014, p. 166). The third millennium has dawned with sciences such as nanotechnology, optical communication, knowledge economy, sociology, knowledge assets, and knowledge management and has brought new expectations with various dimensions. In addition to the issues raised, topics such as computers and the Internet, globalization, (IT), electronic government, virtual organizations, virtual universities, and human learning organizations of the 21st century have faced countless demands and expectations. The central core of responding to these expectations is world education, which is the engine of science, research and technology. With regard to the above role, contemporary education should be an opinion-maker, a leader, a world-builder, and an accelerator of the new curriculum and respond to the new needs of the third millennium. The movement of industrial societies towards the information society has been started for many years and has gained increasing momentum since the beginning of the nineties. So that the speed of this movement is well felt in less developed countries such as Iran.. The need for agile and fast movement of countries like ours in the field of information technology is well felt. But the requirement of every development and transformation program is to create a suitable platform for absorption, digestion and application of technology. New technologies, especially technology related to information and communication, have provided rapid and irreversible changes. These developments have also shaped and brought forth the new world, which is made up of various parts that are constantly interacting with each other and influencing each other, these changes, developments and interactions have created challenges in the current society, one of these challenges is in the field of education, which has caused a new look at this system. Education that is supposed to prepare a person for the future. Therefore, he must have the ability to face the challenges that present developments present to the current generation. The nature of education and upbringing describes it as a quality process in terms of what it should be, not what it is, hence its nature is alive, dynamic, changeable and flexible, and is subject to growth, improvement and change. Meanwhile, the role of information and communication technology cannot be ignored, which is currently very vital and necessary for our education and upbringing. Undoubtedly, the emergence of information and communication technologies has had the greatest impact on educational environments. Based on the supervision of the International Commission of UNESCO in investigating communication problems, one of the roles and duties of communication and information technology in society is the subject of education. The requirement for teachers to understand such deep conceptual changes is a long training course, and in fact, the main key to the effective use of technology in order to improve students' learning is in the hands of the teacher, so that if teachers do not have a correct understanding of how to use it effectively, millions of dollars of investment dedicated to the development of technology in education will be wasted. Now the basic question is that according to the development of information technology and teachers' use of this type of technology, to what extent it has been able to influence their professional growth. The advances of the last century in the field of computers and information technology have gained special importance so that the current century is also called the information century. A century in which the optimal use of information will be an important factor of development and progress, the dependence of the growth of science and the importance of access to information shows the importance of information technology. So that one of the important factors in evaluating the progress of countries is the possibility of obtaining information and how to use it. Meanwhile, the role of information technology in education is very prominent and vital. It is possible to promote information technology in education through controlling the power of information technology so that schools become dynamic and creative educational institutions and the attitude and ability of lifelong learning are cultivated independently in students. In order to achieve these goals, the educational program of schools, especially the method and method of teaching and learning, must change, and this change requires changes in the knowledge and skills of the teacher. Information technology has the ability to be presented not as a tool but as a catalyst for transformation and innovation in the work of education. Therefore, it is necessary to implement in parallel the use of information technology in education, the process of its scientific and cultural foundation, which can be realized by training teachers. Dear teachers

Partial objectives:

1. Investigating the impact of information technology on the way teachers teach
2. Investigating the impact of information technology on the way teachers interact with students
3. Investigating the priorities of teachers in using information technology tools.