A Theoretical Framework Mapping Barriers of Integrating and Adopting Educational Technology

In the field of educational technology, a decades-long research question is: what barriers exist in integration and adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in education educational technology? The intensity of integration and the rate of adoption are significantly low and the interdependencies of barriers within the complex education system are under-represented in the existing categorization of the barriers. So, based on an interest in re-categorizing, mapping, and analyzing the barriers from a transformative paradigm, this study builds on a hermeneutic method of review on 228 peer-reviewed articles. Existing categorizations of barriers are identified and an analysis is conducted to establish a macro-meso-micro level approach as a theoretical framework representing the education system and its external environment. A second analysis identifies, maps, and analyzes the barriers in existing literature by using the theoretical framework. The paper manifests that the macro level?s (national) pre-set goals conflict with expectations from the meso level?s (institutional) educational technology integration. Moreover, factors at the macro and meso levels influence the micro-level (individual) adoption decision. Instead of ?system blame? or ?individual blame?, an integration and adoption approach should consider national holistic view for careful strategic changes in policies, procedures, and practices at each decision level of the educational system and related external systems.