As a father of 7, I have heard the following phrases many, many times:
“I cannot do ___________, it’s too hard.”
“Why are you making me do ________? You know I am not good at it.”
“See, I told you I could not do it.”
“Well, I guess I’m just going to have to try something else. Can I just _________________ the way I used to?”
The term self-fulfilling prophecy refers to an original false belief that leads individuals to act in such a way that objectively confirms their beliefs (Jussim, 2001). Self-fulfilling prophecies have profound relationships regarding teacher expectations and student achievement (Wilkins, 1976). However, there is little research on self-fulfilling prophecies and technology integration in K-12 schools.
Researchers have already found relationships between teachers’ technology integration and cognitive skills (Bell et al., 2013; Perkmen & Pamuk, 2011) and non-cognitive parameters (Marsh, 2022). During the COVID-19 pandemic, would it have been possible for teachers who believed technology was an ineffective learning tool to use it 100% of the time? If they integrated that technology poorly, would they be left saying, “see, I told you technology was not an effective learning tool. My students cannot learn like this.” These statements remind me of what my kids might say.
There is little application of the conceptual framework of self-fulfilling prophecies on technology integration in K-12 schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as far as this researcher is aware. Several questions come to mind that would be suitable for further investigation in this area:
How have self-fulfilling prophecies regarding technology integration impacted equitable learning environments for our students?
What can we do to address districts, schools, and teachers who failed to integrate technology effectively during the pandemic and now perceive that technology is not worthwhile for their instructional practice?
How do we create more equitable learning environments for students who have missed out on technology opportunities because of schools that fail to provide online learning opportunities because of their self-fulfilling prophecies?
It’s not fair to simply look at remote learning and say “Well we tried it, and it didn’t work.” We need to look deeper into the pandemic of technology integration which now permeates many school districts as a result of failed technology implementation plans and teachers self-fulfilling prophecies.
References
Bell, R. L., Maeng, J. L., & Binns, I. C. (2013). Learning in context: Technology integration in a teacher preparation program informed by situated learning theory. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(3), 348-379.
Jussim, L. (2001). Self-fulfilling prophecies.
Marsh, J. (2022). Investigating the relationship between teacher grit, self-efficacy, and technology integration. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Kentucky].
Perkmen, S., & Pamuk, S. (2011). Social cognitive predictors of pre-service teachers’ technology integration performance. Asia Pacific Education Review, 12(1), 45-58.
Wilkins, W. E. (1976). The concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sociology of Education, 175-183.
Learning V. School 