J00056689: Teachers’ Perception of the Implementation of Assertive Technology - Research Proposal Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

The educational system in St.Vincent and the Grenadines has gone through metamorphic changes over the last ten (10) to fifteen (15) years. These changes were triggered by the educational revolution. Assistive Technology (AT) is one area that has seen vast improvements compared to that of years gone by. Wong (2016:195) cites IDEIA 2004 definition of assistive technology as any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability, assistive technology can be looked at as any device or service which contributes to students with disabilities’ success in the classroom. Assistive technology is that tool which assists teachers to meet individual learner’s needs as Ogirima et al (2016:22) explain “assistive technology is that tool which can be marshalled to meet each learner’s need.” In other words, assistive technology equalizes the platform for students with disabilities. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines one such assistive technology (AT) advancement took place with the one laptop per child initiative. Each child from grade one to the tertiary level (community college) was given a laptop. This was seen as a great milestone in our educational system as each child would now be exposed to technology. To ascertain the information needed for this context the following are the research topic and questions which the researcher would be using to direct the research path.

Topic: 
Teachers’ perception of the implementation of assistive technology in inclusive schools in SVG.

The research questions are:
What are the teachers’ perception and/ or attitudes to assistive technology in an inclusive classroom?
What do the teachers perceive as constraints that affect assistive technology? 
What are the effects/ implications of the implementation of AT in schools?

The research findings would provide information to all stakeholders in our educational system on assistive technology. This research would add to the little information which exists on assistive technology (AT) in this context. The researcher hopes by identifying the possible constraints to assistive technology (AT) that solutions can be implemented to limit issues in AT. Overall this research significance cannot be overlooked being one of the first to examine this field (that is assistive technology) in this context thus from this research the data obtained can influence further policymaking. 

Critical Literature Review
A critical literature review not only allows the researcher to position his or her work in existing literature but it also allows the researcher to position his/ her work in existing literature but it also allows the researcher to consider present and prior knowledge on the topic and to guide the path of the present research. 
This critical literature review is divided into two parts the first part positions the research in the current literature and secondly the theoretical framework of the research.

Theme 1:  Teacher perception and attitude to assistive technology (AT)
Research has revealed that teachers’ attitude is central to the success of AT in the classroom. Garcia (2005), Ogirima et al (2017) and March (2017) all agree that a positive attitude on the part of teachers is essential for the successful implementation and utilization in inclusive classrooms. Garcia (2005) and Ogirima (2017) employed qualitative methods while March (2017) used quantitatively. They all deduced that once a positive attitude is imparted AT will be successful however each researcher recognizes that central to the issue of AT is that of competence and utilization on the part of teachers. Ajuwon et al (2016:132) point out in their research that “more than half of the comments were related to the need for more education in the field of AT.” This speaks not only to in-service teachers but pre-service too, for a programme must be implemented with teacher training to equip teachers with the knowledge they need to employ AT devices and services. Ajwon et al (2016:132) concluded that “appropriate training at the pre service and in service levels for teachers of students with disabilities regarding technology instruction is necessary. Thus, we can support Maich (2017:17) view that “the barrier between attitude and practise appears to be training.” It has been consistently shown in spite of the mythologies researchers employ that teachers generally have a positive attitude towards the inclusion of AT in the classroom however their lack of confidence and knowledge on using the technology hinders the use of the device or service in a teaching and learning process.
 
Theme 2: Barriers to AT (Assistive Technology)
Today technology has become an integral part of our lives thus we cannot put it on a back burner due to the host of benefits to be derived. Despite, the many benefits there are several barriers to assistive technology in our classroom. Ahmed (2008) discusses in his article uses an online survey to gather the data. Prior to this research a pilot study was created. It was from this questionnaire the survey took shape. He identifies the barriers to AT as “funding, training and insufficient assessment.” Although he explains the barriers are not limited to those factors only. Coleman (2005) summarizes the barriers as assessment, training, timeliness, and consistency of implementation, psychosocial, cultural and environmental factors and motivation and effort.” Schock and lee (2016) ascertained their data through qualitative methods and learned the opinion of children by conducting a focus group. They described the identified factors like the failure of equipment, ownership and upkeep lack of physical space to set up and maintain the equipment, lack of teacher preparation of electronic material and lastly a lack of continued training o existing and new software and hardware for both students and teacher. This qualitative study allows the students opinion to be heard. The barriers which the student pointed out were in some way related to the equipment. It must be noted that Schock and lee (2015) had to consider the ethical issues involved with students as participants to ensure the validity and the reliability of the research. These researchers share common barriers one being that of training as stated by Schock and lee (2016) training not only for teachers but also for students. This showcases the significance of teacher training in assistive technology. Connor and Beard (2015) joins the debate and discerns a barrier to AT as teacher lack of knowledge on the technology, in other words not knowing how the technology works. This brings to light how crucial it is that training be an ongoing process.  Connor and Beard (2015) reveal to resolve the issue of training schools took advantage of professional development workshop, although these workshops did seem more to have a “one size fits everyone” and this approach must have issues as we learn differently. AmalaJansi and Govinda Raju (2016) conducted a mixed method study which explored four research questions on teacher perceptions in reference to AT. They too confirmed that training is pivotal to AT success. AmalaJansi and Govinda Raju (2016:303) revealed the importance of professional development its connectivity to teacher knowledge and skills as well as how it could increase teacher use of AT.

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