Balancing tradition and innovation: Digital technology integration in Australian secondary English classes

Richard Gordon, Wendy Cumming-Potvin and Sian Chapman
Murdoch University, Australia

In the time-poor world of secondary English-L1 (English as first language) teachers, integrating digital technology in the classroom is both a blessing and a curse. English-L1 teachers continually face tensions between delivering digital content, introducing traditional textbooks, maintaining student attention and teaching 21st century skills. The focus of our research is situated in Australian secondary English-L1 teaching and learning. Through personal and professional narratives, this article explores teachers' varied dispositions towards digital technology and technology-enhanced learning (TEL). These dispositions are related to prevailing school and English department cultures, which, in turn, tap into broader social beliefs about the subject English and how it is best taught. Our exploration considers Australian English-L1 teachers' complex relationships with technology and utilises a Vygotskian (1978) perspective to interpret the sociocultural milieu surrounding technology use in education. Findings suggest that the tenor of cultures in schools and their English departments is critical for understanding technology-enhanced learning in secondary English-L1 classrooms and English-L1 teachers' dispositions towards technology.
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Authors: Mr Richard Gordon is a casual academic and PhD candidate at Murdoch University's School of Education in Perth, Western Australia. Having completed a Masters in Educational Technology (Research), his current doctoral research explores the importance of critical media literacy for pre-service teachers in the digital age. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9855-3863 Email: richard.gordon@murdoch.edu.au Professor Wendy Cumming-Potvin PhD is the Director of Research at Murdoch University's School of Education in Western Australia. She has a background in literacy learning, including immersive language programs and digital connections. Her research and teaching highlight the nexus between social justice, social policy, and the use of technology. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4961-9379 Email: w.cumming-potvin@murdoch.edu.au Dr Sian Chapman is a Senior Lecturer at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. Her research interests include education policy and practice, teacher agency and change, and understanding systemic difference through complexity theory. These concepts are explored across a range of topics including arts education, school diversity, teacher education and practice. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7474-0277 Email: sian.chapman@murdoch.edu.au Please cite as: Gordon, R., Cumming-Potvin, W. & Chapman, S. (2025). Balancing tradition and innovation: Digital technology integration in Australian secondary English classes. Issues in Educational Research, 35(2), 550-572. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/gordon.pdf