TY - JOUR

T1 - Navigating digital skills contradictions with boys’ secondary school students

T2 - The teachers’ perspective

AU - Bihal, Rushpal

PY - 2025/3/24

Y1 - 2025/3/24

N2 - Students’ digital skills development seems to be a pertinent issue as we progress into the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and involves student readiness for Education 4.0. However, literature pertaining to digital skills development is often positioned in Higher Education (HE) and often reports on the lack of students'digital skills. Factors such as poor infrastructure and insufficient teachers’ continuous professional development (CPD) have been reported as reasons for this underdevelopment. However, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), government schools are well-resourced and serviced by digitally skilled practitioners who areregularly offered CPD, yet students’ digital skills still seem underdeveloped. As such, this paper aims to add to the discussion in the literature by focusing on secondary school teachers’ perspectives on the challenges they face when developing students’ digital skills. Underpinned by Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), the study employed a case study methodology using semi-structured group interviews with four teachers from Creative Computer Design and Innovation (CCDI), English, Math and Science. Themes relating to the lack ofstudents’ digital and basic literacy skills, students’ attitudes and behaviours, and organisational policy emerged as challenges teachers experience whilst trying to develop students' digital skills. Consequently, the paper recommends addressing these challenges through policies that work in tandem with each other to improvedigital skills within this and wider contexts.

AB - Students’ digital skills development seems to be a pertinent issue as we progress into the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and involves student readiness for Education 4.0. However, literature pertaining to digital skills development is often positioned in Higher Education (HE) and often reports on the lack of students'digital skills. Factors such as poor infrastructure and insufficient teachers’ continuous professional development (CPD) have been reported as reasons for this underdevelopment. However, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), government schools are well-resourced and serviced by digitally skilled practitioners who areregularly offered CPD, yet students’ digital skills still seem underdeveloped. As such, this paper aims to add to the discussion in the literature by focusing on secondary school teachers’ perspectives on the challenges they face when developing students’ digital skills. Underpinned by Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), the study employed a case study methodology using semi-structured group interviews with four teachers from Creative Computer Design and Innovation (CCDI), English, Math and Science. Themes relating to the lack ofstudents’ digital and basic literacy skills, students’ attitudes and behaviours, and organisational policy emerged as challenges teachers experience whilst trying to develop students' digital skills. Consequently, the paper recommends addressing these challenges through policies that work in tandem with each other to improvedigital skills within this and wider contexts.

U2 - 10.21428/8c225f6e.33d36680

DO - 10.21428/8c225f6e.33d36680

M3 - Journal article

VL - 4

JO - Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning

JF - Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning

IS - 3

ER -