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Abstract

The research exploring the cumulative impact of influencing factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability is lacking. Additionally, the mediating role of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability has not been adequately addressed. This gap hinders the comprehensive enhancement of teachers’ ICT integration ability. This study administered a questionnaire survey involving 9,591 teachers from 238 primary and secondary schools across the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, and structural equation model was utilized to systematically examines the cumulative effects of external and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability and the mediating role of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas. The questionnaire consisted of scales measuring external support, professional development, internal motivation, positive attitude, and ICT integration ability. The results demonstrated that the positive impact of external support on teachers’ ICT integration ability can be significantly enhanced through the serial mediation effects of teachers’ professional development, intrinsic motivation, and a positive attitude towards ICT. Furthermore, it was established that teachers’ ICT integration ability can also be enhanced by providing ICT-related professional development when there is enough external support. These findings deepen the understanding of the effects of interrelations among external support and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas, and could benefit the enhancement of teachers’ ICT integration ability. Practical implications for governments, schools, and teachers were also discussed.

Plain language summary

The Impact of External Support and Internal Factors on Teachers' ICT integration ability in China's Less Developed Regions

This study fills a gap in research by looking at how different factors affect teachers’ ability to integrate ICT into their teaching. It specifically examines how external support, like training and resources, and internal factors, such as a teacher’s motivation and attitude, work together to influence ICT integration. The research was done in less developed areas of China, where teachers may face additional challenges in integrating technology into the classroom. The study collected data from over 9,500 teachers in primary and secondary schools in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It used a structured survey to measure different aspects like external support, professional development, internal motivation, attitude, and ICT integration ability. The findings show that external support has a greater impact on teachers’ ICT integration when it is supported by professional development, internal motivation, and a positive attitude towards technology. This means that giving teachers training, resources, and encouragement to use technology can be even more effective when they are also motivated to do so and have a positive view of its benefits. Additionally, providing ICT-related professional development can further enhance teachers’ ability to integrate technology, especially when they have access to external support. The results help to understand how a combination of external and internal factors can affect teachers' ICT integration skills in areas where resources may be limited. This information can be used to improve the way technology is integrated into teaching, benefiting both teachers and their students. The study also discusses how these findings could be applied in practical ways by governments, schools, and teachers to support the use of technology in education.

Keywords

external support teachers’ ICT integration ability professional development intrinsic motivation positive attitude

Introduction

The term information and communication technologies (ICT) defines a diverse set of technological tools and resources that are used to transmit, store, create, share, or exchange information (UNESCO, 2009). With the increasing availability of advanced technologies and high-speed Internet access in schools, the education system can be characterized by the widespread application of ICT (Donoso et al., 2021; Moon & Bai, 2020). The integration of ICT into education, namely, ICT integration, refers to the use of computing devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, software, or the Internet, in education for instructional purposes (Moon & Bai, 2020; Zhang et al.,2022). Across the world, ICT integration has become an important approach to improve the quality of education and enhances students’ learning (Fernández-Gutiérrez et al., 2020). Previous research indicated that ICT integration in education could benefit both teaching and learning, for example by meeting the learning needs of students (Akram et al., 2022), providing more flexible, proactive, and interactive learning opportunities (Tran et al., 2020) , and cultivating both students’ autonomous learning ability and critical thinking skills (Fernández-Gutiérrez et al., 2020; Hong et al., 2021). In particular, ICT integration can effectively supplement high-quality educational resources for students in schools located in less developed or rural areas (Arrosagaray et al., 2019; Hong et al., 2021; Yang et al., 2018). Consequently, teachers are expected to be competent at integrating ICT into teaching and learning activities, and their ICT integration ability has been widely acknowledged as one of the core literacy skills of teachers in the 21st century (Ifinedo et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2023).

However, compared with teachers in highly developed areas, teachers in less developed areas have relatively poor technical experience and skills (Li et al., 2020), which renders the effects of ICT integration unsatisfactory(Khan & Kuddus, 2020). Lorenz et al. (2019) claimed that the digital divide among teachers in terms of their ability to integrate ICT into teaching and learning might ultimately lead to variations in the digital skills students actually need to live and work in the 21st century. Therefore, promoting teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas is an imperative necessity to bridge the digital divide among teachers, as well as to improve students’ learning performance in less developed areas (Kibirige, 2023).

Ertmer (1999) proposed that there are two levels of influencing factors that affect teachers’ ICT integration, which have been further confirmed by other researchers. First-level influencing factors are external and include external support (Dong et al., 2019) . Second-level influencing factors are internal and include teachers’ personal belief systems, such as their motivation and beliefs, their attitudes toward ICT and their professional development (Koh et al., 2017). Among these influencing factors, researchers have claimed that the provision of external support for teachers was the easiest to achieve (Wang et al., 2022). Therefore, many underdeveloped countries and regions have been actively providing external support for teachers with the goal to improve their ICT integration ability. The support provided includes school support, technical support and peer support (Dong et al., 2019).

However, although the enough external support that has been supplied at government and school levels in order to improve teachers’ ICT integration ability has been deemed sufficient, the effect is not as strong as expected (Peled & Perzon, 2022). The main causes for this unsatisfactory result include internal factors related to teachers, such as their motivation and beliefs, their attitudes toward ICT and their professional development (Koh et al., 2017; Pozas et al., 2022). For instance, previous studies argued that governments merely focused on the purchase of new equipment and software, while neglecting technical support or teachers’ professional development, which led to insufficient ICT integration in teaching practices (Kjellsdotter, 2020; Yang et al., 2023). Francom (2020) conducted a 3-year time-series survey study, and found that while teachers’ access to technology tools and resources increased, yet their training and belief in the value of technology tools and resources declined over time. Other researchers demonstrated that school administrators often did not provide professional ICT skills training for teachers, which impeded the improvement of their ICT integration ability (Kjellsdotter, 2020).

Consequently, merely providing external support for teachers may not achieve an effective promotion of teachers’ ICT integration ability. This highlights the need to examine the comprehensive effects of external support and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability. However, both external and internal factors have not been considered simultaneously in a research model. Specifically, research on the cumulative effect of influencing factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability, as well as on the mediating effects of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability is limited. Further, previous studies on teachers’ ICT integration ability focus on developed countries or regions (Bretscher, 2021; König et al., 2022), and little attention has been directed to underdeveloped areas. Failure to understand the comprehensive effects of external and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability might prevent external support from performing optimally, and hinder the comprehensive promotion of teachers’ ICT integration ability. Therefore, there is an urgent need to examine the effects of interrelations among external support and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability, and promote teachers’ ICT integration ability comprehensively.

To fill the research gap, this study aimed to investigate the cumulative impact of both external factors and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability, and the mediating role of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas. It is hoped that this study make unique contribution on a deeper understanding of teachers’ ICT integration ability, and provides insights for policymakers and educators seeking to enhance teachers’ ICT integration ability in resource-constrained environments by targeting key factors that influence teachers’ ICT integration ability.

Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

According to Ertmer (1999), teachers’ ICT integration is influenced by two levels of influencing factors: external factors and internal factors. In this study, external support was assumed as the external factor while as internal factors, teachers’ professional development, internal motivation, and positive attitude towards ICT were assumed. The following content illustrates the state-of-the-art research on the effects of both external support and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability. The literature on the mediating effects of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability is also presented.

Relationship Between External Support and ICT Integration Ability

In this study, external support refers to assistance teachers received in terms of ICT integration, which usually includes school support, technical support, and peer support (Ertmer, 2005). Several previous studies have claimed that external support plays a vital role in helping teachers to integrate ICT into their classrooms (Yang et al., 2023). For instance, researchers argued that administrative support is often invaluable for teachers’ ICT integration (Wang & Zhao, 2021); therefore, it has been suggested that school administrators should receive technical leadership training to more effectively encourage teachers to integrate ICT into their teaching practice (Baharuldina et al., 2020). Additionally, technical support and peer support are also significant factors affecting teachers’ ICT integration (Mustafa et al., 2024). For instance, researchers found that insufficient technical support discouraged teachers from using ICT in their teaching practice, while the provision of adequate equipment and technical support motivates teachers to incorporate ICT (Mirzajani et al., 2016). Therefore, this study proposes that external support is related to teachers’ ICT integration ability. Specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H1. External support has a positive effect on teachers’ ICT integration ability.

The Mediating Effect of Professional Development

In this study, professional development refers to teachers’ ICT-related professional development, that is, the continuous process of reflection, learning, and action teachers engage in to further their knowledge and skills, that leads to enhanced ICT-related teaching practices. Research has shown that ICT-related professional development is associated with teachers’ ICT integration ability (Vanderlinde & van Braak, 2010). A study conducted in Singapore found that professional development programs for technological pedagogical content knowledge are often effectively improve teachers’ confidence in ICT integration (Koh et al., 2017). Other research has suggested that teachers who attended ICT-related professional development programs feel more competent in integrating ICT into their teaching practice, as they can keep abreast of developments in the field of ICT integration (Vanderlinde & van Braak, 2010). Similarly, another study showed that longterm professional development significantly increased teachers’ ability to regularly integrate technology into their teaching practices (Wang & Ko, 2022). Therefore, it is proposed that professional development might be related to teachers’ ICT integration ability. More specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H2a. Teachers’ professional development has a positive effect on their ICT integration ability.

Further, numerous studies have shown that external support is closely related to professional development (Li et al., 2023). For example, Admiraal et al. (2021) have stated that one of the important path of effective professional development is active support from the school leadership team. Steinberg and Yang (2022) indicated that school leadership could play a vital role in the successful professional development of teachers. Atman and Usluel (2019) reported that technical support and administrator support can help teachers integrate ICT into teaching practices. Thus, it is proposed that external support might be related to teachers’ professional development. More specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H2b. Teachers’ external support has a positive effect on their professional development.

By summarizing H2a and H2b, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H2. Teachers’ professional development mediates the relationship between external support and their ICT integration ability.

The Mediating Effect of Teachers’ Positive Attitude Toward ICT

In this study, teachers’ positive attitude towards ICT refers to their adoption of an optimistic and open-minded perspective towards the use of technology in various aspects of their life and work. The association between teachers’ positive attitude toward ICT and their ICT integration ability has been well documented (Ferede et al., 2022). Research has shown that teachers who hold a positive attitude of ICT and believe that ICT is beneficial for teaching and learning are more likely to integrate ICT into their classes (Beardsley et al., 2021). Turgut and Aslan (2021) demonstrated that teachers’ attitudes and interests towards the use of ICT in learning environments affected their ICT integration. Researchers also found that teachers’ attitudes towards technology significantly predict teachers’ use of technology (Li et al., 2019). Consequently, it is proposed that teachers’ positive attitude toward ICT might be related to their ICT integration ability. More specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H3a. Teachers’ positive attitude toward ICT has a positive effect on their ICT integration ability.

Several studies have highlighted the relationship between external support and a positive attitude toward ICT (Ferede et al., 2022; Wu et al., 2019). Specifically, Siyam (2019) found that the availability of technical support positively impacted teachers’ attitudes towards ICT use. Xu et al. (2022) showed that training activities can enhance teachers’ positive attitudes towards technology. Additionally, Dong et al. (2020) reported that teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning are positively correlated with administrative support. Thus, it is proposed that external support might be related to teachers’ positive attitude towards ICT. More specifically, he following hypotheses are proposed:

H3b. External support has a positive effect on teachers’ positive attitude towards ICT.

Combining H3a and H3b, it is hypothesized that:

H3. Teachers’ positive attitude towards ICT mediates the relationship between the positive effect of external support on their ICT integration ability.

The Serial Mediating Effects of Internal Motivation and Positive Attitude

In this study, internal motivation refers to teachers’ drive to engage in ICT-related activities for the inherent satisfaction and enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than for any external reward or specific outcome. The relationship between external support and internal motivation has been examined (Liu et al., 2020). Existing research has also indicated that external support for teachers, including administrative support (Yang et al., 2023), peer support (Wu et al., 2022), technical support (Turgut & Aslan, 2021), and ICT infrastructure support (Rudhumbu, 2020) can enhance teachers’ internal motivation to integrate ICT into their teaching. Therefore, it is proposed that external support might be related to teachers’ internal motivation. More specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H4a. External support has a positive effect on teachers’ internal motivation.

Several studies have confirmed that internal motivation plays a significant role in enhancing positive attitudes (Shonfeld & Magen-Nagar, 2020). For example, Chiriacescu et al. (2023) established that the intrinsic motivation of preservice teachers to use technology was positively correlated with their positive attitudes towards technology. Furthermore, Shonfeld and Magen-Nagar (2020) showed that internal motivation affects individuals’ attitudes towards technology in terms of technology anxiety (hesitancy or self-doubt associated with one’s own ability to use technology), technological self-confidence (the inherent belief in one’s ability to master technology), and technological liking (the internal feeling of enjoyment and stimulation, or the desire to learn about, think about, or converse with others about the characteristics and advantages of technology). More specifically, the stronger an individual’s internal motivation, the less their technology anxiety, and the stronger their technological predilection. Consequently, it is proposed that teachers’ internal motivation might be related to their positive attitude towards ICT. More specifically, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H4b. Teachers’ internal motivation has a positive effect on their positive attitude towards ICT.

By integrating H4a, H4b and H3a, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H4. Teachers’ internal motivation and positive attitude have serial mediating effects in the relationship between external support and integration ability.

The Serial Mediating Effects of Professional Development and Positive Attitude

Considerable existing research evaluated the effect of professional development programs on teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in education (Pongsakdi et al., 2021). For instance, Kao et al. (2020) found that teachers’ attitudes toward web-based professional development are the important predictors of their perceptions of integrating technology into their teaching. Further, Koh et al. (2017) claimed that after ICT-based professional development training, more teachers formed positive attitudes towards the use of computers in the classroom. Therefore, it is proposed that teachers’ professional development might be related to their positive attitude towards ICT. More specifically, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H5a. Teachers’ professional development has a positive effect on their positive attitude towards ICT.

By consolidating H2b, H5a and H3a, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H5. Teachers’ professional development and positive attitude have serial mediating effects in the relationship between external support and their ICT integration ability.

The Serial Mediating Effects of Professional Development, Internal Motivation, and Positive Attitude

Beardsley et al. (2021) stated that teachers should be trained to meet the required skill levels, which could enhance their internal motivation. Other researchers have confirmed a positive relationship between professional development and teachers’ intrinsic motivation (Tang et al., 2020; Yang, 2021). Additionally, Wang et al. (2020) pointed out that professional development programs provide opportunities for teachers to enhance teaching and learning experiences. Consequently, teachers feel competent, relevant and self-sufficient in their learning, development, and teaching practices. Therefore, it is proposed that teachers’ professional development might be related to their internal motivation. More specifically, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H6a. Teachers’ professional development has a positive effect on their internal motivation.

By combining H2b, H6a, H4b, and H3a, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H6. Teachers’ professional development, internal motivation and positive attitude have serial mediating effects between external support and ICT integration ability.

The Proposed Research Model

Based on the literature review presented above, the proposed research model is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Hypothesized research model.

Methodology

Participants

The present study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee at the author’s University. The sample analyzed in this study consisted of 9616 teachers from 238 primary and secondary schools in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, located in northwest China, is one of the five ethnic autonomous regions in China. Because of its remote geographical location and scarce natural resources, the region’s economic development of the region is relatively slow and its education level is relatively low. It serves as a typical representative of underdeveloped areas within China. In 2018, the Ministry of Education identified Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as the first “Internet plus education” demonstration area, and since then, the region has received strong external support in terms of educational resources (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018). Consequently, this study selected teachers from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China as research subjects, as this sample is typical and representative. Of all participants surveyed, 9591 teachers (99.7% of the total sample) submitted complete responses. Twenty-five incomplete or invalid responses were omitted from the original sample. Of the remaining valid sample, 3,055 teachers were male, and 6,536 teachers were female. Table 1 provides detailed information regarding participants.

Table 1.

Participant Characteristics.

Variable	Category	Number	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male	3,055	31.85
Gender	Female	6,536	68.15
Age	Less than 25 years	556	5.80
	25–29 years	1,502	15.66
	30–39 years	3,219	33.56
	40–49 years	2,726	28.42
	50–59 years	15,81	16.48
	60 years and above	7	0.07
Educational background	High school	106	1.11
	Bachelor’s degree	9,209	96.02
	Master’s degree	177	1.85
	PhD degree	13	0.14
	Other	86	0.90
Job tenure	Less than 5 years	1,544	16.10
	5–10 years	2,352	24.52
	11–15 years	1,111	11.58
	16-20 years	1,031	10.75
	21-25 years	1,358	14.16
	26-30 years	1,217	12.69
	More than 30 years	978	10.20

Measures

External Support Scale

The external support scale included five items and was adopted from the SFA-T3 Scale (Papanastasiou & Angeli, 2008). The items “Other teachers encourage me to integrate computers into teaching and learning” and “The technical support at my school is adequate” were incorporated as sample items. For the sample used in this study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.90.

Professional Development Scale

The professional development scale used in this study included four items that were developed according to the “Standards for Information Technology Application Ability of Primary and Secondary School Teachers (Trial)” (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2014). Sample items are “I am consciously using ICT to promote self-reflection and development,” and “I have participated in online ICT course activities, such as special discussion forums and online community activities.” For the sample used in this study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.85.

Internal Motivation Scale

The internal motivation scale included five items that were adopted from the subscale of the Teacher Well-Being Scale (De Pablos-Pons et al., 2013). Sample items are “I use ICT because it makes my work easier,” and “I know technology is necessary for my students.” For the sample used in this study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83.

Positive Attitude Scale

The positive attitude scale included eight items, which were adopted from the International Computer and Information Literacy Study Scale (Fraillon et al., 2015). The sample items used are: “ICT enables students to access better sources of information,” and “ICT helps students to consolidate and process information more effectively.” For the sample of this study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.95.

ICT Integration Ability Scale

The ICT integration ability included six items which were adopted from the Second Information Technology in Education Study Scale (Brese & Carstens, 2009). Sample items are: “I can prepare lessons that involve the use of ICT by students,” and “I know which teaching and learning situations are suitable for ICT use.” For the sample of this study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.90 for the sample of this study.

Except for the professional development scale, all items of the scales were translated into Chinese, and confirmed by researchers following a standard back-translation procedure (Brislin, 1970). Before the survey was administered to participants, a group of five doctoral students—all experts in this field—pre-tested the survey to examine its face validity. At this stage, feedback was gathered in both bilingual and monolingual forms, to account for differences in language and culture perceptions (Hulin, 1987). All participants responded positively and were able to clearly articulate the intended purpose of the survey. Minor adjustments to formatting were made, according to the participants’ feedback. All scales were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

Data Collection and Analysis Procedures

This study was carried out in December 2019, with the assistance of the Education Department of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Participants selection was conducted using a two-stage cluster sampling method. At the first stage, several primary schools and secondary schools were selected randomly within each of the 22 districts and counties of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. At the second stage, teachers of different subjects in the sample schools were randomly selected as participants. The questionnaires were distributed to participants via an online survey platform, which was developed by the research team. The survey link was disseminated to participants via WeChat groups established by the education departments of the districts and counties of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. All participants were informed of the research purposes and were prompted to sign a consent form before participating in the study. All participants completed the questionnaire anonymously, and the collected data were kept strictly confidential and were used for this research only.

According to the research hypotheses, data analyses were performed, according to the following three steps: First, confirmatory factor analysis and Mplus 8.3 were employed as analytical methods and tools to evaluate the measurement model in this study. Second, descriptive and correlational statistics were calculated. Third, mediation analyses and serial mediation analyses were conducted to analyze the mediating effects of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability.

Results

Evaluation of the Measurement Model

To estimate the reliability and validity of the scales, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were assessed. As shown in Table 2, the composite reliability (CR) values all exceeded 0.83, which is considered satisfactory. Cronbach’s α values were acceptable, ranging from 0.83 to 0.95. The average variance extracted (AVE) values were all above 0.50, which was acceptable (Segars, 1997). The square roots of AVE were greater than the correlations among variables, indicating good discriminant validity (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Therefore, the constructs of the instrument used in this study have good reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed a good model fit with CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.03, RMSEA = 0.067 (90% CI: 0.066–0.068). Harman’ s single factor and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to test for common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2012). The variance of loading items was less than the recommended threshold of 50% minimum (Podsakoff et al., 2003).

Table 2.

Instrument Reliability and Validity.

	Convergent validity	Reliability of measures		Discriminant validity Latent variable correlations
	AVE	CR	Cronbach’s α	ES	PD	IM	PA	IA
ES	0.65	0.90	0.90	0.81
PD	0.58	0.85	0.85	0.45	0.76
IM	0.55	0.83	0.83	0.51	0.51	0.74
PA	0.72	0.95	0.95	0.45	0.65	0.54	0.85
IA	0.61	0.90	0.90	0.48	0.81	0.53	0.72	0.78

ES: External support; PD: Professional development; IM: Internal motivation; PA: Positive attitude; IA: Integration ability.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

The means, standard deviations and the correlations for all variables included in the model used in this study are presented in Table 3. The results indicated that the levels of teachers’ external support (M = 4.42, SD = 0.61) and internal motivation (M = 4.24, SD = 0.65) exceeded the levels of their positive attitude (M = 4.19, SD = 0.61), ICT integration ability (M = 4.16, SD = 0.58), and professional development (M = 4.10, SD = 0.61). These results further demonstrated that external support, professional development, internal motivation, positive attitude, and ICT integration ability were significantly and positively correlated with each other.

Table 3.

Mean, Standard Deviation, and Correlation of All Variables.

Variables	1	2	3	4	5
1. External support	1.00
2. Professional development	0.45***	1.00
3. Internal motivation	0.51***	0.51***	1.00
4. Positive attitude	0.45***	0.65***	0.54***	1.00
5. ICT integration ability	0.48***	0.81***	0.53***	0.72***	1.00
M	4.42	4.10	4.24	4.19	4.16
SD	0.61	0.61	0.65	0.61	0.58

***p < .001.

Hypotheses Testing

As all variables were correlated with each other, mediation effect analysis was conducted. The serial mediation model has a good model fit: CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, SRMR = 0.03, RMSEA = 0.067 (90%CI: 0.066–0.068). According to Figure 2 and Table 4, the amount of external support significantly predicted ICT integration ability (b = 0.041, p < .001), thus supporting H1. The amount of external support significantly predicted professional development (b = 0.516, p < .001), which in turn positively predicted integration ability (b = 0.844, p < .001), thus supporting both H2a and H2b. The amount of external support significantly predicted positive attitude (b = 0.056, p < .001), which positively predicted integration ability (b = 0.199, p < .001), thus supporting both H3a and H3b. Further, the amount of external support significantly predicted internal motivation (b = 0.403, p < .001) which positively predicted positive attitude (b = 0.186, p < .001), thus supporting both H4a and H4b. The level of professional development significantly predicted positive attitude (b = 0.568, p < .001), thus supporting H5a. Additionally, the level of professional development significantly predicted internal motivation (b = 0.469, p < .001), thus supporting H6a.

Figure 2.

The serial mediation model.

Table 4.

Path Coefficients for Direct and Indirect Effects.

Hypothesis	Relationship	β	p-values	Supported
H1	ES → IA	0.041	.000***	Yes
H2a	PD → IA	0.844	.000***	Yes
H2b	ES → PD	0.516	.000***	Yes
H3a	PA → IA	0.199	.000***	Yes
H3b	ES → PA	0.056	.000***	Yes
H4a	ES → IM	0.393	.000***	Yes
H4b	IM → PA	0.192	.000***	Yes
H5a	PD → PA	0.566	.000***	Yes
H6a	PD → IM	0.461	.000***	Yes

ES External support; PD Professional development; IM Internal motivation; PA Positive attitude; IA Integration ability.

***p < .001.

As shown in Table 5, all pathways were significant. First, the indirect effect of professional development mediates the relationship between external support and integration ability (b = 0.435, p < .001), thus supporting H2. The indirect effect of positive attitude mediates the relationship between external support and integration ability (b = 0.011, p < .001), thus supporting H3. Further analysis confirmed that the indirect effect of external support on integration ability with two serially positioned mediators (internal motivation and positive attitude), was significant (b = 0.015, p < .001), thus supporting H4. Simultaneously, the indirect effect of external support on integration ability through professional development and positive attitude was significant (b = 0.058, p < .001), thus supporting H5. The relationship between external support and integration ability was still significant when taking the mediators of professional development, internal motivation and positive attitude into account (b = 0.009, p < .001), thus supporting H6. Consequently, this study confirmed that the positive relationship between external support and integration ability was fully and sequentially mediated by teachers’ professional development, internal motivation and positive attitude.

Table 5.

Effects Used in the Mediation Model.

Path	Effect (b)	Bootstrap 95%CI
Path	Effect (b)	Lower	Upper
Total indirect effect
External support → Professional development → Integration ability	0.435	0.394	0.478
External support → Positive attitude → Integration ability	0.011	0.006	0.018
External support → Internal motivation → Positive attitude → Integration ability	0.015	0.011	0.020
External support → Professional development → Positive attitude → Integration ability	0.058	0.049	0.069
External support → Professional development → Internal motivation → Positive attitude → Integration ability	0.009	0.007	0.012
Direct effect
External support → Integration ability	0.041	0.019	0.062
Total effect
External support → Integration ability	0.569	0.524	0.615

Discussion

Cumulative Effects of External Support and Internal Factors on ICT Integration Ability

This study found a positive correlation between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas without any mediation variables, which is consistent with previous research (Baharuldina et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2023). In other words, teachers who received more external support at government and school levels showed stronger ICT integration abilities than those who received less external support. Evidently, adequate external support will encourage teachers to use ICT in their teaching and inspire them to design teaching activities using technology (Mirzajani et al., 2016). Therefore, advanced technology infrastructure and adequate support from school administrators and colleagues might contribute to teachers’ ICT integration in classrooms.

Furthermore, analyses showed that the total effect of external support on teachers’ ICT integration ability was the strongest, followed by the total indirect effect of teachers’ professional development, internal motivation, and positive attitude towards ICT. This finding indicated that the cumulative effects of external support and internal factors were much stronger than the effect of external support on teachers’ ICT integration ability. The reason is that external support has a limited direct impact on improving teachers’ ICT integration ability, which is consistent with previous research (Yang et al., 2023).

The Meditation Effects of Internal Factors on the Relationship Between External Support and ICT Integration Ability

This study found that professional development, internal motivation and a positive attitude acted as mediators of the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability. Further, professional development mediated the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability; the indirect effect of professional development is far greater than the direct effect of external support on teachers’ ICT integration ability. This result is consistent with previous research, indicating that adequate external support plays a positive role in professional development (Yang et al., 2023) and that professional development can improve teachers’ ability to integrate ICT into their teaching practice (Sullivan et al., 2024). The reason for these results may be that teachers who receive sufficient external support (e.g., in the form of encouragement from school leaders, technical support from colleagues, and advanced ICT infrastructure) are more likely to receive professional training, which helps them to better integrate ICT into their classrooms (Nawastheen et al., 2023).

A positive attitude mediates the relationship between external support and teachers’ attitude towards their own ICT integration ability. This outcome is in line with previous research, which claimed that adequate external support promotes teachers’ positive attitudes, which in turn improves their ability to integrate ICT into their teaching practices (Peled & Perzon, 2022). A possible explanation for this result might be that when teachers receive support from school leaders or colleagues towards ICT integration, their acceptance of, and satisfaction with, ICT would increase (Masango et al., 2022; Yalley, 2022). Consequently, their attitudes towards ICT integration might become more positive. Further, teachers with positive attitudes are more likely to use instructional technology tools in classrooms, making learning more interesting and appealing for students, which improves teachers’ ICT integration ability (Sasota, 2021).

Additionally, professional development, internal motivation and a positive attitude sequentially mediated the association between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability. This result means that the quality of external support correlates with teachers’ professional development, internal motivation and a positive attitude, all of which jointly affect teachers’ ICT integration ability. This finding is consistent with previous research, suggesting that effective professional development could meet teachers’ needs for improving their ICT abilities. Such effective professional development will enhance teachers’ intrinsic motivation and result in a more positive attitude towards ICT integration, consequently increasing their ICT ability (Barba-Sanchez et al., 2022; Gerhard et al., 2023).

More importantly, among the above-mentioned mediation effects, the indirect effect via professional development is the strongest. That is, teachers’ ICT integration ability can be significantly increased by providing necessary ICT-related professional development opportunities under sufficient external support. However, in less developed areas of China, the professional development of teachers is insufficient. The following external factors hamper such professional development: a lack of funding for training (Kibirige, 2023), a shortage of high-quality training content, and an unmet need for more effective monitoring and evaluation methods in schools (Turgut & Aslan, 2021). There are also internal factors, such as teachers’ job burnout (Arkorful, 2021), unawareness of professional development resources, and a lack of belief in lifelong learning (Dlamini, 2022; Lavidas et al., 2021).

Implications

Based on the findings presented above, the authors put forward the following suggestions to effectively promote teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas: First, in less developed areas, external support is positively correlated with teachers’ ICT integration ability. Therefore, measures that aim to enhance teachers’ professional development, internal motivation and positive attitude towards ICT should receive guaranteed external support, which is a prerequisite for teachers’ possession of professional training, strong internal motivation and positive attitude towards ICT integration (Peled & Perzon, 2022). Specifically, the government should collaborate with education institutions and enterprises to address the practical difficulties faced by underprivileged rural schools in terms of inadequate ICT infrastructure (insufficient network infrastructure, terminals, and tools for both teachers and students). In addition, the government should carry out regular assessments of teachers’ ICT integration ability to gain a better understanding of the difficulties and challenges faced by teachers in integrating information technology, and to provide targeted support and assistance to teachers as needed (König et al., 2022). Schools should also facilitate the promotion of ICT by ensuring that all teachers can use ICT infrastructure and that technical support is readily available; further, information technology personnel should be provided to support timely maintenance of ICT equipment, regular training and guidance on ICT-related courses for teachers should be carried out, and formal or informal learning communities for teachers should be created (Timotheou et al., 2022). Additionally, schools should establish a platform to facilitate communication and exchange among teachers, parents, and students, thus fostering an optimal environment for teachers’ ICT integration. Parents should adopt a positive attitude towards the incorporation of ICT into educational practices and encourage their children to actively participate in the use of digital tools during classroom sessions.

Second, given that the indirect effect of professional development is far stronger than the direct effect of external support on teachers’ ICT integration ability, schools should offer teachers more comprehensive, systematic and continuous professional training. A successful professional development program should be based on an understanding of how teachers can effectively use technology in the classroom (Bowman et al., 2022). Specifically, at the national level, the central government should actively promote policies regarding ICT in education, which has been acknowledged as an effective approach towards implementing ICT-enhanced educational innovation and school reforms (Liu et al., 2024). At the local level, the government should consider the unique demands of teachers at various stages, disciplines, and educational levels when devising a structured and classified training program aimed at enhancing their ICT integration capabilities. This measure can effectively facilitate professional development of teachers at all levels and categories. Furthermore, the local government can facilitate the establishment of collaborative consulting and service teams between enterprises, research institutions, and other parties to promote ICT integration in education. At the school level, two key aspects need to be considered. Firstly, a conducive atmosphere and effective mechanism for the integration of ICT into teaching should be established. This can be achieved by encouraging excellent teachers to take the lead in exploring and inspiring the enthusiasm of their peers to adopt an ICT approach. Secondly, it is essential to organize diverse and rich teaching and research activities around the theme of “Teaching design and implementation in digital environments.” Measures could be to invite teaching experts to enter classrooms to conduct observations and diagnoses, and to conduct in-depth theoretical and case discussions with teachers to effectively solve key difficult problems faced by teachers regarding ICT integration.

Third, teachers should strengthen their professional identity and continually reflect on their teaching practices. Professional identity is understood as the perception teachers have of themselves (Richter et al., 2021), which would affect their professional development as well as their ability and willingness to cope with educational change (Bruggeman et al., 2021). Reflection has been identified as a key element in high-quality teaching and teachers’ professional development (Han & Wang, 2021). Therefore, teachers should strengthen their professional identity and regularly reflect on their own teaching practice to obtain insights and understanding related to ICT integration. Teachers can actively seek out and explore professional development paths that are supported by information technology and leverage these to facilitate more extensive sharing of information, communication, and reflection. For instance, teachers could participate in online learning communities, and utilize network learning spaces and research forums to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative growth, with the aim to preserve memories of both individual progress and collective development. Furthermore, to keep abreast of ongoing changes in education, it is necessary for teachers to establish a practice of lifelong learning as this will help them to achieve continuous professional development.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study examined the cumulative effects of both external and internal factors on teachers’ ICT integration ability; the mediating effects of internal factors on the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas were also examined. Specifically, the study found:

External Support Has Direct and Indirect Influence on Teachers’ ICT Integration Ability

External support exerts a limited direct effect on improving teachers’ ICT integration ability, while teachers’ professional development, internal motivation and positive attitude towards ICT are serial multiple mediators in the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability. This result implies that sufficient external support could sequentially improve teachers’ professional development, internal motivation, and positive attitude, which would eventually result in an increase in teachers’ ICT integration ability.

Teachers’ Professional Development is the Key Factor in Promoting Teachers’ ICT Integration Ability

Teachers’ professional development is the most critical factor affecting the relationship between external support and teachers’ ICT integration ability. This result emphasizes the central role of continuous professional learning in nurturing teachers’ abilities to effectively integrate ICT in their teaching. Therefore, both researchers and practitioners should consider the vital influence of professional development on teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed regions.

As with any research, this study is subject to several limitations, which provide avenues for future research. The scales in this study are self-reported measures, which might introduce method biases and social desirability. Future studies could collect multi-source data in terms of variables. For instance, teachers’ ICT integration ability could be measured using process data from online learning platforms, as well as survey or interview data from students. Additionally, factors such as obstacles encountered when integrating ICT into teaching (Wang et al., 2022), students’ ICT competence (Turgut & Aslan, 2021), and teachers’ technological leaning experience (Farjon et al., 2019), all of which may influence teachers’ ICT integration ability, are not included in this study. Accordingly, future studies could consider these influencing factors when examining teachers’ ICT integration ability in less developed areas.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.62477021), and Hubei Province Teaching Research Project (2023314).

Ethics Statement

Ethics Review Committee of Hubei University of Technology stated the procedures for human participants involved in this study were consistent with the ethical standards of Hubei University of Technology and the 1975 Helsinki Declaration. Prior to participation, all participants were provided with information regarding the study’s purpose and were required to sign a informed consent form.

ORCID iD

Sha Zhu

Data Availability Statement

Data can be accessed by contacting the first author or the corresponding author.

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Modeling the Effects of Interrelations Among External Support and Internal Factors on Teachers’ ICT Integration Ability in Less Developed Areas of China

Abstract

Plain language summary

Keywords

Introduction

Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

Relationship Between External Support and ICT Integration Ability

The Mediating Effect of Professional Development

The Mediating Effect of Teachers’ Positive Attitude Toward ICT

The Serial Mediating Effects of Internal Motivation and Positive Attitude

The Serial Mediating Effects of Professional Development and Positive Attitude

The Serial Mediating Effects of Professional Development, Internal Motivation, and Positive Attitude

The Proposed Research Model

Methodology

Participants

Measures

External Support Scale

Professional Development Scale

Internal Motivation Scale

Positive Attitude Scale

ICT Integration Ability Scale

Data Collection and Analysis Procedures

Results

Evaluation of the Measurement Model

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

Hypotheses Testing

Discussion

Cumulative Effects of External Support and Internal Factors on ICT Integration Ability

The Meditation Effects of Internal Factors on the Relationship Between External Support and ICT Integration Ability

Implications

Conclusion

External Support Has Direct and Indirect Influence on Teachers’ ICT Integration Ability

Teachers’ Professional Development is the Key Factor in Promoting Teachers’ ICT Integration Ability

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

Ethics Statement

ORCID iD

Data Availability Statement

References