The Extent of Interactive Whiteboard Integration in Teaching and Its Relationship to Teachers’ Professional Performance and the Barriers to Their Use from the Perspective of First-Cycle Female Teachers in Oman

Abstract

The current study aimed to identify the extent of interactive whiteboard use in teaching educational materials, to verify the correlation between the use of interactive whiteboards in teaching and professional performance, and to uncover the obstacles to their use from the perspective of primary school teachers in the Sultanate of Oman. The study adopted a descriptive correlational approach and used the Interactive Whiteboards Scale (developed by the researchers). The scale was administered to a stratified random sample of 200 teachers. The results of the study indicated: a high degree of interactive whiteboard use in teaching, with a mean score of 3.496; a positive correlation at a significance level of 0.01 between the use of interactive whiteboards and the professional performance of primary school teachers; and the presence of moderate obstacles to the use of interactive whiteboards, with a mean score of 3.345. These obstacles included: technical obstacles related to the internet and the specifications of the interactive whiteboards; and obstacles related to the activation of the interactive whiteboards, such as insufficient time for teacher training on their use, the lack of readily available programs and applications for all subjects, and the unsuitability of the whiteboards. The study addressed the challenges of interactive teaching across all subjects and the weakness of digital skills among some teachers. It concluded with the following recommendations: strengthening internet networks and equipping classrooms with signal boosters; preparing classrooms for the use of interactive screens; raising teachers' awareness of how to activate interactive screens and giving them sufficient time to implement the process; providing ready-made and free programs and applications for all subjects; encouraging and supporting teachers with weak digital skills or anxiety about interactive screens, and providing them with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills; integrating interactive screen teaching with active learning strategies; and developing teaching strategies that are compatible with the use of interactive screens.