Πολιτισμικές αντιλήψεις εκπαιδευτικών δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης για τις τεχνολογίες πληροφορίας και επικοινωνιών: η περίπτωση των εκπαιδευτικών ψηφιακών παιχνιδιών

This doctoral thesis addresses issues related to secondary education teachers' perceptions of innovative teaching practices that involve Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educational practice. It explores the educational identity of teachers with regard to ICT, and in particular the cognitive, didactic, extracurricular, personal profile in the particular field of interest, as well as their perceptions of the pedagogical value of ICT in teaching practice. In addition, the influence of the broader social, cultural and economic context in shaping teachers' pedagogical beliefs about ICT is studied. In this context, the personal and extrinsic obstacles to achieve ICT integration in the educational process are examined.The study of the aforementioned issues is the basis for targeting the main topic of the doctoral thesis, which concerns the educational digital game. The widespread use of digital games by adolescents, the successful development of the cognitive game-learning combination, and the potential to exploit digital games-based learning (DGBL), have shifted research interest in this direction. Under this light, the creation of one educational digital game and the application of two educational digital games during the implementation of the School Activities Program, as well as the role of the teacher in this educational process are initially evaluated on an empirical basis. At a second level, this research aims to explore the more generic profile of secondary education teachers, who, by employing innovative ICT teaching practices, support the use of digital games to improve the learning process. In addition, the research interest focuses on the external factors that affect the context in which the teacher is invited to engage in play activities in order to shape an integrated 'environment' for the exploitation of digital educational games. The study concludes with the development of a theoretical model, outlining the integrated profile of the teacher who has all the necessary skills to effectively integrate digital games into the teaching practice. Finally, there are some suggestions for future research efforts that can extend / improve the results of the research.It is noted that the research interest of the present thesis lies in the fact that the general perceptions of ICT teachers regarding their approach towards digital educational games have not been examined so far. Moreover, there is no exploratory study on the integrated profile of the teacher who views play activity not only as an interesting prospect, but as a pleasant and highly beneficial teaching practice. The study is supported by a theoretical approach and a literature review of the topics of interest. With regard to the theoretical framework, it focuses on the most important areas of the general axis of Information and Communication Technologies, the relevant perceptions of teachers and the factors that contribute to their formation. In addition, there is a theoretical approach to digital gaming and educational digital games (‘serious games’) in relation to learning theories, Digital Game-based Learning, and the various benefits they bring to the educational process. As for the methodological framework, empirical research initially focused on the creation and evaluation of a two-dimensional and the evaluation of a three-dimensional game (the latter is an evolution of the former). Furthermore, a quantitative research was carried out involving secondary education teachers in the Region of Western Greece, through the development and circulation of a questionnaire that served as a data collection tool. Statistical processing of the results included at first the overall target population and secondly a targeted sample derived from the processing of the original statistical population. Following an evaluation of the results, relevant conclusions were drawn. The findings of the research demonstrate that, while the teaching profile of teachers is student-centric, they do not, however, use ICT pedagogically during teaching practice. They acknowledge more strongly the contribution of ICT to extracurricular activities, such as the implementation of School Activities Programs. In addition, their strong interest on ICT training is identified, even though relevant technological knowledge and skills gaps are revealed. Moreover, it is concluded that external factors that shape the framework for the integration of ICT into the educational practice may be considered as major obstacles in the deployment of ICT during the educational practice. These primarily relate to the need to improve the infrastructure and to reinforce the school culture of collaboration in this direction. On the contrary, personal barriers to supporting and promoting innovative ICT teaching practices are valued as minor. Additionally, teachers' perceptions of ICT in general, as well as their contribution to professional development and the learning process are inferred. Nevertheless, there are doubts about the quality of the New Technologies in terms of their use by the students. In the field of perceptions about digital educational games, their added value is recognized in the educational practice, despite their extremely limited use. The varied benefits of creating and, secondarily, using a serious game as an innovative teaching practice in formal or semi-formal education are noted. The conclusions drawn from the analysis and interpretation of the results of the targeted sample of teachers who strongly support the exploitation of educational digital games to improve the learning process, reveal differences from the general sample and shape the particular characteristics of their profiles. Worth mentioning is the very strong availability of these teachers to transform their teaching practice and their role in it, their repeated voluntary participation in innovative extracurricular collaborative activities with their students, their systematic engagement with ICT during preparation for teaching, their self-education on ICT coupled with more frequent use of ICT in daily teaching and the limited negative impact of extrinsic barriers on the aforementioned choice. In terms of their perceptions on ICT, these are identified as positively strong in the fields of connection with the demands of modern social reality, professional development and willingness to provide an interesting and attractive profile to teaching in order to reinforce students' motivation to learn.