Shifting paradigms: A critical pragmatic evaluation of key factors affecting learner-empowered emergent technology integration

Abstract

This dissertation used a critical pragmatic research paradigm, transformative mixed methods research methodology, and a paradigm shift framework to explore online graduate level students’ perceptions of what key government, institutional, curricular, instructional, and environmental factors and, ultimately, what educational paradigm most empowered them to integrate emergent technologies for learning on demand. Voluntary respondents came from two semester-long online graduate courses on educational technology that blended traditional and learner-centered policies, structures, and practices. The study employed in-depth interviews supplemented with online questionnaires to capture students’ perceptions before, during, and after their courses. One quarter of respondents expressed a consistent preference for one paradigm, while three quarters reported a paradigm shift from the beginning to the end of the term under study. Early term results indicated that nearly half of the respondents felt that a behavioural paradigm most empowered them to integrate emergent technologies for learning on demand. By the end of the term, over 90 percent perceived that a blended or learner-determined paradigm was most empowering. Furthermore, changes in respondents' pre- to post-term emergent technology integration level scores indicated that the most empowering paradigm was the perceptual paradigm. Throughout the term all respondents indicated that instructional, followed by environmental factors were most empowering. Nevertheless, those who preferred a learner-determined paradigm identified environmental factors more often; they also rated personal responsibility and self-motivation highly as well. Lastly, across all factor categories, three prevalent empowerment themes emerged: use of emergent technology was most cited, followed by relevancy, and then accessibility.