Teachers’ Views on the Digital Divide in Greece: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers’ views on the digital divide and its implications in the field of Primary education in Greece. The research questions were related to the conceptualization of the digital divide by teachers, its consequences and the role of teachers. A total of 22 elementary school teachers were selected out of which 8 were male and 14 were female. The semi-structured interview was used as a research tool and an interview guide was developed that had four themes. The first theme concerned teachers' conceptualizations on the digital divide, the second theme was related to the use of ICT in education, The third theme was about the consequences of the digital divide and the fourth theme included questions about how to deal with the digital divide. The results conclude that the teachers: a) signify the digital divide in a comprehensible way, distinguishing its forms, the factors that influence it, and their implications in their daily social life and educational practice, b) refer to the social inequalities being created in the social environment and c) education policy in Greece is often not supportive of teachers’ work.