SPECIAL AND GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER ATTITUDES TOWARD THE INTEGRATION OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES AND STRUGGLING LEARNERS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Teachers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward innovations in educational pedagogy and curriculum, from technology to new paradigms of learning, have an impact on the use and integration of those innovations. Using mobile devices for teaching and learning is a relatively new innovation in education. In Saudi Arabia, the use of mobile devices in everyday life is fairly prevalent. The use of mobile devices for educational purposes has not been explored in depth. Saudi Arabian teachers’ knowledge of, use of, and attitudes toward the integration of mobile devices for teaching and learning has not received a great deal of attention by researchers. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ knowledge about, use of, and attitudes toward the use of mobile devices, exploring both their knowledge of mobile learning as well as their openness to using mobile devices in the future. A survey designed to get a wide range of teachers’ input was be constructed. From those survey participants, 10 participants were chosen to participate in in-depth, qualitative interviews. Participants in the interviews were asked knowledge and implementation questions, as well as questions that explored their attitudes toward the use of mobile devices in their classrooms to improve the educational outcomes of students with specific learning disabilities and struggling learners. After transcribing, coding, and analyzing the interviews of ten participants, eight major themes emerged from the data analysis including: Demonstration of Basic Knowledge, Technology Tools viewed as Diverse and Flexible, Technology viewed Positively and Promising, Technology viewed as Complementary and Supplemental, Technology viewed as Facilitating Instruction, Technology viewed as a Tool to Expand Knowledge and Explore Content, Technology viewed as Meeting Students’ Needs and Improving Academic Outcomes, and Challenges and Barriers Associated with Technology. Discussion of the survey and interview findings is provided. Finally, implications, limitations, and future research are discussed