Digital Technology Integration in Schools: A Theoretical Approach

Autori:

Daniela COMAN, Stefan COJOCARU

Cod: ISSN: 1583-3410 (print), ISSN: 1584-5397 (electronic)
Dimensiuni: pp. 133-144

How to cite this article:

Coman, D., Cojocaru, S. (2026). Digital Technology Integration in Schools: A Theoretical Approach. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 93, 133-144, DOI: 10.33788/rcis.93.8

Abstract:

Digitalisation in schools represents one of the structural dimensions of contemporary society rather than a peripheral technological development and it definatelly has direct consequences for the school organization, institutional culture and pedagogical practice. Although the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) continues to be one of the most influential frameworks for explaining technology adoption and it emphasizes the arguments and possible explanations for digital technologies adoption in school system, recent research suggests that digital technology integration in education cannot be understood isolated and only through subjective evaluations of technological utility and usability. Moreover, we will notice that it is a multilevel process shaped by digital competence, institutional support, school culture, family involvement, infrastructure, and socio-economic inequality, like a triangulation model. This article develops a sociological and educational framework for examining digital technology integration in education by drawing upon theoretical contributions and research on digital competence, digital skills, open educational resources, digital divide, and teacher technology acceptance. From this perspective, the paper argues that digital literacy should be conceptualized as a form of socially distributed capital and take into consideration that teachers might function as central mediators between technology and learning outcomes. We cannot ignore how the pandemic period intensified the existing inequalities while revealing the importance of digital tools, school-family collaboration and most of all the organizational limits. Digital technologies became indispensable in order to keep the educational process within its normal limits, although it intensified the preexisting inequalities that affected eventually: students, families and teachers. Therefore, TAM is presented as a useful framework that must be extended through multilevel and contextual analysis in order to explain meaningful and sustainable digital technology integration in schools.