Johan van Braak

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Educational Studies

In the context of social transformation, the needs of society and individuals for information technology are changing, and discussions on the value and function of information technology are getting more and more attention. The purpose of this research is to clarify the value problems of the information technology curriculum and its function for nu...

Although there is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of being digitally competent today, there have been few empirical investigations into the assessment of primary school students’ digital competences. This study presents a systematic review of the empirical research on the assessment of primary school students’ digital co...

This study aims to explore the interrelatedness of socio-ethnic classroom diversity, teachers’ citizenship beliefs, teacher practices to create a citizenship-fostering classroom climate, and their relationship with social citizenship competences of primary school students in Flanders. Data were gathered from 686 sixth-grade primary school students...

A mixed-methods study was conducted to investigate the relationship between four aspects of quality of teaching (safe and stimulating learning climate, efficient classroom management, adaptation of teaching, teaching learning strategies) and reading comprehension in segregated, low SES classes in Flanders. Second-grade students (n = 312) were teste...

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ citizenship beliefs relate to the way they teach citizenship in the classroom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 sixth-grade primary school teachers in Flanders. The results show a dominant presence of conservative citizenship beliefs, which are also reflected in the citizenship contents...

In our current diverse society, young people need a wide scope of social citizenship competences to coexist with and understand the otherness of others. Schools are one of the social practices in which students develop these social citizenship competences. This study aims to identify how socio-ethnic diversity in the classroom is related to the soc...

This study aimed to provide a more comprehensive view on the relationship between metacognitive awareness, intrinsic and extrinsic listening motivation, and L1 primary school students’ critical listening skills. A critical listening test and different self-report questionnaires were administered to 649 native Dutch-speaking sixth-grade students. Qu...

At-risk students are overrepresented in disadvantaged segregated primary schools. Often, these students begin with an educational delay and have less parental support, which makes them more dependent on the quality of their education. Since quality of education depends in great measure upon mechanisms at the class level, it is crucial to gain insig...

Effective listening comprehension skills are an important prerequisite for the academic success of primary school students. However, the assessment of listening skills in the instructional language appears to have received only scant attention in the literature. Therefore, the goal of the present study was twofold. Firstly, a comprehensive listenin...

Despite the importance of listening, little investigation of potential correlates of listening comprehension in the language of schooling is done. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate which stu-dent- and class-level characteristics are related to sixth-grade students' listening skills in Flanders. A sample of 974 students in 70 c...

We've all seen the short 'educational and enter-the ones that show practical, real-world classroom examples, such as teachers demonstrating how to use a new ICT application. This article discusses such examples of educational practice (in short: practical examples) because, if they meet certain conditions, they can inspire teachers to integrate ICT...

The unique characteristics of Tablet-PCs promise important benefits for education. Yet, little is known about the rationale underlying teachers’ decisions concerning its educational uses within the constraints of daily classroom practice. The current multiple case study investigated the practical considerations informing nine secondary school teach...

Full text: http://www.mictivo.be/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BOOK_Eindrapport_MICTIVO-3_01.2019_OK.pdf

The research presented in this dissertation aimed at understanding how computers are being used by primary school teachers and how ICT use is influenced by and related to a number of teacher and school related variables. This research aim embodies the idea that ICT integration should be seen as a specific case in the wider field of school improveme...

This paper starts from the understanding that teachers’ knowledge is situated, grounded in knowledge derived from formal training and from experiences in practice. Based on this understanding we examine teachers’ reasoning in relation to the pedagogical choices teachers make while using ICT in practice. We argue that teachers’ reasoning about pedag...

This report contains the results of a policy-oriented investigation (February 2015- January 2017) commissioned by the Flemish Government (Belgium) - Education and Training Department. It is only available in the Dutch language.

Beginnende leraren moeten over voldoende competenties beschikken om ICT op een didactisch verstandige manier te integreren in de onderwijspraktijk. Deze kwantitatieve studie onderzocht in welke mate toekomstige leraren door hun lerarenopleiding worden voorbereid op deze competenties. Hiertoe zijn 931 laatstejaarsstudenten uit 20 instellingen via ee...

This study aimed to investigate the relationship of classroom composition factors with reading and listening comprehension achievement and progress in socially and ethnically segregated primary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Specifically, using a three-level multivariate repeated measures analysis, it examined the association of reading and listeni...

Most studies on the assessment of ICT competences use measures of ICT self-efficacy. These studies are often accused that they suffer from self-reported bias, i.e. students can over- and/or underestimate their ICT competences. As such, taking bias and accuracy of ICT self-efficacy into account, would improve the validity of these studies and the pr...

This study aims to investigate how teachers’ trust in their students relates to reading comprehension achievement in socially and ethnically segregated elementary schools in Flanders (Belgium) by taking into account class composition characteristics. It is examined how student variables, ethnic diversity and the proportion of non-native students in...

This review was designed to further our understanding of the link between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their educational uses of technology. The synthesis of qualitative findings integrates the available evidence about this relationship with the ultimate goal being to facilitate the integration of technology in education. A meta-aggregative ap...

This paper has been awarded the prize of best paper at the Educational Technology World Conference (ETWC) 2016. The main aim of this study was to measure the impact of the support pre-service teachers receive on their knowledge for effective technology integration, namely technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Specifically, we focused...

The overall aims of this study are to explore 1) how beginning teachers integrate technology in their practice and 2) the connections between teachers’ technology uses and their pre-service education programs. Data of this follow-up study were collected through in-depth interviews with beginning teachers. The results revealed that all beginning tea...

Computer-based learning environments (CBLEs) have the potential to integrate the linguistic diversity present in classrooms as a resourceful tool in pupils’ learning process. Particularly for pupils who speak a language at home other than the language which is used at school, more understanding is needed on how CBLEs offering multilingual content c...

This study explores the use of different scaffolds in the computer-based learning environment (CBLE) watweetjeoverevolutie.be, designed from a pedagogical view and based on theories to promote self-regulated learning as well as knowledge about evolution theory. First, general theoretical constructs underlying the CBLE are described, in which the fo...

Teacher training institutions are expected to prepare preservice teachers to integrate technology into their educational practice. However, several studies suggest that technology is often underused by preservice (eg. Mouza et al., 2014). There is a discrepancy between what preservice teachers are taught and how teachers use technology in a classro...

In this chapter complementary theoretical perspectives are elaborated. The theory of technological mediation studies the teacher-technology relationship and accentuates the material dimensions of technology integration. This theory postulates that teachers and technology constitute each other. The theory of situated cognition features the social di...

The main objective of this study is to develop a self-report instrument to measure preservice teachers’ ICT competencies in education. The questionnaire items of this instrument are based on an existing comprehensive framework and were created with input from experts in the field. The data were collected from a sample of 931 final-year preservice t...

Lerarenopleiders moeten zich steeds verder professionaliseren om de kwaliteit van de lerarenopleiding te waarborgen. Tot aan het begin van de 21ste eeuw werd die professionele ontwikkeling van lerarenopleiders eerder aan het toeval overgelaten. De laatste jaren wordt hier evenwel meer aandacht aan besteed. Zo gaan er steeds vaker stemmen op voor ee...

This paper is a report on the key findings of a region-wide monitoring study conducted in Dutch-speaking schools in Belgium. First, we elaborate on the building blocks of the instrument, which has been updated and improved since its first deployment in 2007. In particular we focus on the core indicators, along with the multi-actor approach, the sam...

In the past, several studies have investigated the relationship between gender and socioeconomic status on the one hand, and students' ICT competences on the other. In this research field, two problems seem to occur. First, research findings are inconclusive. Second, most studies are conducted from the perspective of self-perceived ICT competence....

Information and communication technology (ICT) use became of major importance for primary schools across the world as ICT has the potential to foster teaching and learning processes. ICT use is therefore a central measurement concept (dependent variable) in many ICT integration studies. This data paper presents two datasets (2008 and 2011) that con...

Nowadays, more and more authors are convinced that ICT (information and communication technology) in early childhood education provides multiple possibilities for young children. The current study, conducted in Flanders, aims to get a clearer picture of ICT use in Flemish preschools. For this purpose, a questionnaire was composed consisting of newl...

Het SQD-model (Synthesize Qualitative Data) presenteert effectieve strategieën voor het opleiden van toekomstige leraren op het gebied van educatief ICT-gebruik. Voorbeelden van strategieën die effectief bleken op basis van kwalitatieve studies zijn: het voorzien van rolmodellen, ruimte voor reflectie over de rol van ICT in onderwijs, en het onders...

The present study aimed to identify the role of both student- and school-level characteristics in primary school students’ achievement in the science curriculum. As societies become more culturally and linguistically diverse, many students enter the classroom with a home language that is different from the language of instruction used at school. Th...

In search of factors that affect pupils' ICT competences, research has developed and empirically validated several conceptual frameworks. Although these frameworks are valuable ways of initially identifying factors related to pupils' ICT competences, they do not take into account the broader classroom and school context in which pupils are embedded...

In the past decade, several studies have measured ICT competences from the perspective of ICT self-efficacy. Such indirect measurements tend to have validity problems, as they depend on the pupils’ ability to judge their own ICT competences. This study outlines the development of a performance-based digital test and the validation of a direct measu...

This study takes off where most acceptance studies stop, namely by investigating the link between acceptance and different aspects of actual usage of an educational portal. Both receptive (logins, downloads and pageviews) and generative use behavior (uploads and reactions) of 864 teachers was collected on two occasions, and linked to their response...

Given the weak intrinsic reading motivation of many adolescents on the one hand and the importance of this type of motivation for reading competence on the other hand, the aim of the present study is to identify the related role of teacher behavior. To pursue this aim, a secondary analysis was carried out on PISA 2009 data. More par-ticularly, data...

This study uses a multilayered framework of different independent school and teacher variables to study which factors are related to the use of ICT for teaching and learning in Flemish (Belgium) primary schools. Special attention is paid to widely accepted technology uses by teachers, which is labelled as ‘Institutionalised ICT use’. A questionnair...

In 2005, the term Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) was introduced as a conceptual framework to describe the knowledge base for the effective integration of technology in teaching. Matt Koehler and Punya Mishra built their ideas based on Lee Shulman’s notion of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and indicated that TPCK consists of...

Naar aanleiding van een evaluatie van ICT-integratie in Vlaanderen waaruit blijkt dat er meer dan dringend nood is aan professionalisering van leraren, worden drie benaderingen geschetst. Elke benadering reflecteert een eigen visie op de (toekomstige) rol van ICT in het onderwijs.

We’ve all seen the short ‘educational and entertaining films shown on study days of teachers, the ones that show practical, real-world classroom examples, such as teachers demonstrating how to use a new ICT application. This article discusses such examples of educational practice (in short: practical examples) because, if they meet certain conditio...

Seeing how colleagues use ICT in their classrooms can be inspiring – “I’m going to do it that way, too!” – but simply copying someone else’s example is not a fundamental change in behavior. To achieve that, one’s personal views must also evolve. Examples of educational practice that promote such evolution contribute to teachers’ professional develo...

Iedereen kent ze: de filmpjes die 'ter leering ende vermaeck' op studiedagen worden getoond; filmpjes die de levensechte praktijk aanschou-welijk maken, zoals leraren die een nieuwe ict-toepassing demonstreren. Over dit soort praktijkvoorbeelden gaat dit artikel. Want als deze praktijkvoorbeelden aan bepaalde voorwaarden voldoen, kunnen zij een pri...

Researchers have been making efforts to examine barriers blocking ICT use in the classroom. However, less attention has been paid on the impact of "internal barriers" on ICT class use. This study centres on influences of teachers' thinking processes (traditional teaching, constructivist teaching, general computer attitudes, attitudes toward compute...

p>This study explored the black box of technology integration through the stimulated recall of teachers who showed proficiency in the use of technology to support teaching and learning. More particularly, the aim of the study was to examine how these teachers use technology in their lessons and to gain deeper insights into the multifaceted influenc...

In view of the tremendous potential benefits of clinical information systems (CIS) for the quality of patient care; it is hard to understand why not every CIS is embraced by its targeted users, the physicians. The aim of this study is to pro- pose a framework for assessing hospital physicians' CIS-acceptance that can serve as a guidance for future...

Abstract: This symposium discusses several ways in which (pre-service) teachers' TPACK can be measured. The first two studies unravel the TPACK survey (Schmidt et al., 2009), a self-report instrument to determine TPACK, and try to revalidate the survey in two different pre-service teacher education contexts: The US and the Netherlands. The third...

The purpose of this study is to analyze the content features of educational technology curricula for primary education developed by national governments. A quali-tative cross-case document analysis of the national educational technology curriculum of Norway, Flanders and England was conducted. The analysis focuses on the underlying visions, specifi...

The purpose of the study reported in this article was to analyse the relationship between teachers’ educational beliefs and their typical approach to computer use in the classroom. In this context, the question arises whether particular profiles of teachers can be distinguished based on their beliefs about good education. A survey of 574 elementary...

Despite the widespread assumption that students require scaffolding support for self-regulated learning (SRL) processes in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs), there is little clarity as to which types of scaffolds are most effective. This study offers a literature review covering the various scaffolds that support SRL processes in the dom...

The present study aims to challenge primary school science teachers' beliefs about education and teaching efficacy, as well as their teaching practices, through a video-case-based intervention programme in a Chinese educational setting. A total of 46 in-service teachers were involved in this study (experimental group = 23, control group = 23). Pre-...

Teacher educational beliefs may be largely shaped by culturally shared learning experiences and social values. The main purpose of this study is to explore educational beliefs of Chinese student teachers. An adapted version of the Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS)—developed in a Western context (Woolley et al. in Educational and Psychological Measurement...

Researchers and policy makers around the world are increasingly acknowledging the importance of developing a school-based ICT policy plan to facilitate the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. Despite this interest, not much is known about how schools can develop their local ICT policy capacity and how to esta...

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been introduced as a conceptual framework for the knowledge base teachers need to effectively teach with technology. The framework stems from the notion that technology integration in a specific educational context benefits from a careful alignment of content, pedagogy and the potential of tec...

The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which teacher education institutions (TEI) prepare pre-service teachers for integrating information and communication technology (ICT) in their classroom practise. Specifically, a mul-tiple case study was conducted to examine the ways in which the development of technological pedagogical content know...

Recently the impact of educational research has increasingly become an object of research in itself. A body of literature shows that research findings merely reach educational practice, and insufficiently drive schools towards educational change that is based on research evidence. One of the keys in improving educational practice lies in an intensi...

The usefulness and relevance of educational research for practice is a recurring theme in discussions between educational researchers and practitioners. This problem is not new and has been rearing its head since the dawn of the educational sciences. Partly in light of changes in practice, more recent calls for cooperation between research and prac...

De impact van onderwijsonderzoek is de laatste jaren steeds meer zelf object van onderzoek geworden. Verschillende studies laten zien dat onderzoeksresultaten de praktijk te weinig bereiken en scholen onvoldoende aanzetten tot veranderingen die gebaseerd zijn op wetenschappelijke bewijskracht. Eén van de sleutels tot praktijkverbetering is een vers...

Centraal in deze bijdrage staat het “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (TPACK) model. Dit conceptueel raamwerk, ontworpen door Koehler en Mishra, kan (toekomstige) leraren helpen om ICT te integreren in onderwijsleeractiviteiten (zie http://www.tpack.org). TPACK heeft betrekking op de relatie tussen “vakinhoud”, “vakdidactiek” en “ICT”:...

The purpose of this study is to gain a better insight into the reasons why hospital physicians accept and use a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Two research questions are put forward, pertaining to (1) factors that contribute to physicians' acceptance of PACS, and (2) whether these factors change as physicians gain experience in...

Schools are more and more encouraged to write a school-based information and communication technology (ICT) policy plan. In such a plan, a school describes its expectations, goals, content and actions related to the future role of ICT in teaching and learning. Although this is encouraged by researchers and policy makers, the literature on ICT polic...

Teachers play a pivotal role in implementing educational innovations and realising curriculum change. Consequently, their perceptions of innovations and curricula content are of crucial importance. In this study, teachers' perceptions of the new ICT curriculum in Flanders are examined. This curriculum reflects Flemish society's underlying vision of...