The perspectives of Iranian EFL teachers on the integration of ICT into their teaching practices

This chapter reports the findings of a multiple-case study that was carried out during October-January 2013 held with 9 Iranian EFL teachers -five male, four females- from across 6 schools in the capital city of Tehran. Underpinned by a socio-cultural epistemology and utilising an interpretivist qualitative paradigm, this study aimed to explore participants' perspectives on the integration of computer and other ICT (information and communication technology) tools into their teaching. The focus was the individual and contextual factors which had influenced and shaped the perceptions and practices of these teachers. In so doing, in-depth data was collected based on a total of 36 face to face individual semi- structured interviews that were guided by 27 observations of classroom practices. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that ICT uptake by participants was seriously hampered by several interacting and interrelated areas that influenced participants' perspectives and practices