167_JoSD_template


Original Article

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT
in STEM Education: Attitudes
Expressed in Texts on Education in
Greece (1984-2006)

Katerina Nikolakopoulou, Gerasimos Koustourakis, Vassilis Komis and 
Konstantinos Ravanis*
Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Greece
*Email: ravanis@upatras.gr

Abstract
In this article an attempt is made to study the attitudes in the “discourse” on the integration of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education
in Greece during the critical period 1984-2006, the period when the most important programme related to this
integration was completed. The approach to the discourse was carried out using quality analysis of texts in the
journal “Contemporary Education” through the use of a specialized methodological tool. The results of the
analysis revealed that until the middle of the period being examined, there was a strong tendency to adopt at-
titudes that claimed that the integration of ICTs would bring about and/or should bring about minimal change,
while in recent years attitudes which adopt the perspective of real influence of ICTs in the change in teaching
practices have started to increase.

Keywords: attitudes towards ICT; discourse analysis; ICT in STEM Education

Theoretical framework

The concept of discourse from Foucault’s theoretical framework is suitable for the analy-
sis of various meanings and perceptions which are expressed on a particular issue by
the social subjects, like the integration of ICTs into teaching action (Whisnant, 2012). Dis-
course comprises a culturally constructed reproduction of reality at a specific historical
period which is created, maintained, put forward and promoted by the socially powerful,
who use the available means of communication for this purpose (Foucault, 1972; Pitsoe
& Letseka, 2013). So, discourse appears as a political good promoted by bodies who ex-
ercise power, aimed at the predominance of a dominant view which is passed off as
“truth” (Jones & Ball, 1994, p. 171). Such a version of the truth may constitute a demon-
stration of the need for the utilization of ICTs in the teaching of curriculum subjects in ed-
ucation. More precisely, Foucault mentions that every society, at a particular moment in
time aims through discourse at the shaping of its own regime of truth, which is linked to
policies that promote “the establishment of domains in which the practice of true and

Journal of Subject Didactics, 2016

Vol. 1, No. 2, 67-81, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.438164



false can be made at once ordered and pertinent” (Foucault, 1991b, p. 79). In other
words, talking about a regime of truth is an attempt to maintain that form of discourse,
which is promoted as truth, with the aim of controlling the regulation of the language,
thought and desire of the social subjects (Foucault, 1978). And this is because discourse
appears simultaneously as text, in written and oral forms, and action as it is noted in peo-
ple’s everyday practices (Foucault, 1977). However, discourse does not remain static but
“undergoes constant changes as new utterances are added to it” (Foucault, 1991a, p.
54). Consequently, as far as the shaping of discourse on ICTs is concerned, it is important
to trace the varied and as a result different versions of it, as they are expressed in the
pages of scientific journals with wide resonance in educational circles.

The discourse which relates to the utilization of ICTs in greek compulsory education
was shaped by the action of the Official Recontextualizing Field (ORF), in other words,
the ministry of education (Bernstein, 2000), and is linked to the implementation of a new
interdisciplinary curriculum which was established, applying the decisions of European
leaders in Lisbon in 2000 for the integration of ICTs in the educational process (Kous-
tourakis, 2007). Here the international element proves to be dominant in the shaping of
greek education policy in the area of school knowledge which contains ICTs as a basic
element of the educational action. What’s more, for the shaping of the particular contem-
porary greek educational policy for ICTs faculty members from the greek universities who
belong to the Pedagogical Recontextualizing Field (PRF) were activated within the frame-
work of the ORF, and they were activated in the sector of the new technologies and ped-
agogy (Koustourakis & Panagiotakopoulos, 2008). Indeed, the PRF, which is made up
of the universities, the teachers, who can act either autonomously or through their trade
union organizations, scientific journals, the publishing houses and the press that occupies
itself with educational issues (Bernstein, 2000), play a decisive role in the shaping of the
attitudes and actions of the teachers concerning the integration of the ICTs in Greek
STEM education.

Foucault perceived discourse on a particular issue, such as the discourse on ICTs,
as a magnetic field which concentrates “the totality of all effective statements (whether
spoken or written)” which is expressed following a particular set of rules “in their disper-
sion as events” (Foucault, 1972, p. 27). In this case, the written statements of the mem-
bers of the PRF, which set out in a clear way, following the rules of publication for scientific
articles in the pages of scientific journals through which “their attitudes”, related to the in-
tegration of ICTs in STEM Greek education, can be traced, are important. Indeed, the in-
tegration of ICTs into education brings about significant changes in the educational
process and the approach to school knowledge, which is why it is to be expected that it
would be picked up on by members of the PRF with the expression of differing and often
opposing attitudes.

Fishbein & Ajzen (1975, p. 6), described attitude as the “learned pre-disposition to re-
spond in a consistently favourable and unfavourable manner with respect to a given ob-
ject”, while for Capan (2012) attitudes represent the intellectual evaluations of an issue
based on one’s proximity or distance from it.

Over the past two decades, with the spread of technology in schools, a significant
number of studies have been conducted related to the attitudes of teachers towards the
integration of ICTs into the schools (Jimoyiannis & Komis, 2007; Wen & Shih, 2008).
Some research has been concerned with the way in which attitudes on teaching are in-
fluenced by the need to use ICTs in the teaching act (Ertmer, 2005; Goos, Galbraith, Ren-
shaw, & Geiger, 2003), other research focuses on the particularly positive attitudes of

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.68



teachers towards computers and the acceptance of their utilization for teaching (Kara-
giorgi & Charalambous, 2006; Cure & Ozdener, 2008; Foley & Ojeda, 2008) and finally,
there is research that is concerned with the tracing of negative attitudes of teachers who
are called on to use ICTs, and which range from “mild discomfort to extreme avoidance”
(Todman, 2000, p. 27).

Many studies also mention the factors which influence the teachers’ attitudes to ICTs.
The teachers generally have positive attitudes towards the training programmes they at-
tended, the general role that ICT can play in education and the integration of ICT in the
educational process (Jimoyiannis & Komis, 2006, 2007). On occasions, the attitudes are
linked to technical parameters (Morris, 2010) and it is seen that when the teachers do
not use the available equipment often, this happens either because they don’t possess
the necessary knowledge to prepare the students to approach the new social challenges
(Kocak Usluel, Kuskaya Mumcu & Demiraslan, 2007) or because the teachers’ technical
knowledge cannot guarantee the effective teaching of ICT (Schoepp, 2005). Pelgrum
studied the influence of the head teachers’ attitudes on ICT and concluded that “there is
a clear association between the attitudes of school principals and the emphasis on com-
puter integrated learning within the school“ (1993, p. 209). Trigwell, Prosser & Water-
house (2009) highlighted the existence of a concatenation of relationships, which starts
from the teachers’ way of thinking about teaching, the pupils’ approaches to learning and
technology, the quality of learning and the learning outcomes. A number of researchers
(Baylor & Ritchie, 2002; Albirini, 2006) highlighted from the findings of their studies the
existence of a strong relationship between the attitude of the teachers and the successful
use of ICT. Any change in teaching methodology should meet the needs of learners and
educators in the digital age (Sharma, 2011, p. 390) and more specifically contain under-
standing of ‘why I’m using ICT’ and not simply ‘how do I use ICT’ (Towndrow & Vallance,
2004). The “persistent digital disconnect between the tech-intensive lives of students out-
side of school, and the unsatisfactory experiences provided by many schools to use tech-
nology meaningfully” (Project Tomorrow, 2011, p. 3) is highlighted. Kay (2006) noted that
the shift from computer training to the focus on “informed pedagogy” proved to be of es-
pecial significance. From Ertmer et al.'s (2012) research it emerged that educators who
hold 'student-centred beliefs undergird student-centred practices (authenticity, student
choice, collaboration). Moreover tended…to enact student-centred curricula despite tech-
nological, administrative, or assessment barriers”. In addition, from their findings it be-
came clear that “most teachers indicated that internal factors (e.g., passion for technology,
having a problem-solving mentality) and support from others (administrators and personal
learning networks) played key roles in shaping their practices. Teachers noted that the
strongest barriers preventing other teachers from using technology were their existing
attitudes and beliefs towards technology, as well as their current levels of knowledge and
skills” (Ertmer et al., 2012, p. 423).

Then, various observation scales have been created for the evaluation of the attitudes
towards ICT of the pupils, the teachers and the heads of the school units (Rosen & Weil,
1995; Korukonda & Finn, 2003). These scales are made up of subscales which can be
summarised in four general categories: a) Anxiety – Avoidance – Aversion to do with the
prospect of the use of computers, b) Self-efficacy/Trust, c) Enthusiasm/Pleasure/Amuse-
ment from the use of ICTs, and d) Usefulness of ICT/Negative impact on personal and
social life.

Rogers (1995) attempts to approach the spread of innovation and explain why some
individuals adopt innovation and others don’t. In addition, he attempts to categorize these

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 69



people based on the moment in time during which they adopted them.
Siorenta & Jimoyiannis (2008), studying the attitudes of teachers of the Natural Sci-

ences in Greece, ascertained the existence of three groups of teachers: a) the tradition-
alists, who were possessed by the attitudes of strict adherence to the presentation of the
knowledge content of physics through the use of the school textbooks and who are un-
willing to incorporate teaching laboratories and activities based on the use of ICT in their
classroom, b) the non-traditionalists, who have a learner-centred orientation and positive
attitude towards the adoption of laboratories and the teaching of Physics through the use
of ICT and c) the undecided, who waver between the traditional and the non-traditional
approaches in the teaching of Natural Sciences and likewise in the role of the laboratory
and teaching which utilizes ICT (Siorenta & Jimoyiannis, 2008, p. 198).

Macleod (2005) notes the existence of two extreme teacher attitudes regarding the
use of ICT in teaching. Some teachers are strong supporters of technological innovation,
while others are unwilling to accept ICTs as necessary in the learning process. In the first
case we find attitudes that simply see the learning of ICTs as an autonomous teaching
goal, and restricted only in the value of the endeavour simply at a technical level. In the
other case we come across the attitude that ICTs constitute a tool with consequences
not only simply at the level of technology but at the level of social changes and reforms.
These extreme positions create a continuous spectrum in which various intermediary at-
titudes to technology are shaped (Juniu, 2005).

Aviram & Tami (2004) recognise as attitude the discourse for the integration of ICTs
into education, the attitude which is expressed concerning the extent and level of change
to which the integration will or should lead. Changes are understood as simple technical
shifts in administrative or educational functions, important shifts in teaching practices,
radical change in all the educational processes or even ending up at complete de-school-
ing. Analysing attitudes to ICT in education, they distinguish five categories:

Agnostic attitudes, expressed by those who aren’t interested in or don’t know1.
what any changes are or should be.
Conservative, is the attitude of those who claim that schools need to survive with2.
minimal change and that ICTs simply constitute an additional tool.
Moderate attitudes are supported by those who believe that with the integration3.
of ICT, schools will be lead to extensive change in teaching practices.
Radical attitude, which is founded on the belief that schools are to change radi-4.
cally in all educational or administrative processes.
Extreme radical attitude which marks de-schooling and the end of the form of5.
today’s school.

Since the incorporation of ICT nowadays continues internationally to constitute a stake
for education, the systematic recording of multiple, varied gradated attitudes on the in-
troduction of ICT in STEM education, the recording of the prevailing trends and their in-
terpretation offer important information which can be expected to influence the
development of public discourse. Aviram & Tami (2004) note that it is important for us to
investigate the issue of the integration of technologies into education below the surface
and “encourage the development of a theoretical discussion, based on empirical data”,
which will provide information on any shift and/or progress in the sector, contributing to
the enrichment of the desired dialogue.

The present research aims at the investigation of the attitudes of the authors of re-

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.70



search and theoretical texts, which come from the PRF and formulate their attitudes in
the greek university scientific press between 1984 – 2006, relating to the extent and level
of the suspected changes which the integration of ICT may lead to in Greek STEM edu-
cation.

Methodology and Research Questions

In this research we will be occupied with the approach to the following research ques-
tions:

How is the discourse on the incorporation of ICT in STEM education, which is•
expressed through the pages of the greek scientific journal press, shaped?
Are there any changes in the formulation of the particular discourse on the inte-•
gration of ICT in Greek STEM Education during the time period we focus our in-
terest on?

The research focusses on the content study of the scientific journal “Contemporary
Education” which belongs to the PRF (Bernstein, 2000) and which had wide distribution
and acceptance in educational circles from the 1980s and on, contributing to the circula-
tion of the discourse on the incorporation of ICTs in Greek STEM education. This is be-
cause this journal publishes articles which present a variety of attitudes on the part of
the authors, who belong to the PRF, on the issue in question, and constitute effective
statements for the acceptance, or not, of “truth” (Foucault, 1972), which is promoted by
the dominant discourse, which was shaped by the action of ORF (education ministry)
and requests the utilization of ICTs in the teaching process, in this way implementing the
related decisions of European Union leaders on education (Koustourakis, 2007).

This research focusses on texts published in the pages of the journal Contemporary
Education between 1984 and 2006 and which focus on the integration of ICT into edu-
cation. The year 1984 marks the start of the introduction of experimental teaching of In-
formation Science in Greek secondary education (Panagiotakopoulos & Koustourakis,
2005) and 2006 is the year of publication of teaching material implementing the new cur-
riculum for compulsory education which was established in 2002 and includes educational
software for all the subjects (Koustourakis, 2007). During this time a wide programme
was implemented in Greece which concerns the attempt to introduce ICT into education,
which took place with funding from the European Union’s Community Support Frame-
work. Precisely due to the attempt to implement this venture, intense discussion on ICT
developed and many researchers as well as educators presented research as well as
theoretical texts on the issue that occupies us.

Consequently, our research material is made up of articles which were published in
the journal Contemporary Education and which refer to ICT and their utilization in edu-
cation. Qualitative Content Analysis was performed on these articles, during which since
we defined the ‘theme’ as basic unit for data recording and the ‘article’ as context unit,
and the attitudes of the authors towards ICT were sought in the whole article (Kripendorff,
2004). We also attempted the quantification of some data in order to record trends. The
articles were analysed with the digital software Nvivo 8.

The units of analysis that were noted were assigned to one of the following five analy-
sis categories, which emerge from the work of Aviram & Tami (2004) and reveal authors’
attitudes towards ICT:

Agnostic attitude1.
Conservative attitude2.

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 71



Moderate attitude3.
Radical attitude4.
Extreme radical attitude5.

The five particular analysis categories were used in the study of the research material
as the attitudes of the authors of the articles analysed were sought with the aim of de-
scribing the extent and level of the changes proposed by the authors themselves during
the integration of ICT into the educational framework and their utilization in STEM teach-
ing in Greece.

Results

From study of the contents of the journal Contemporary Education 97 articles which ap-
proach the relationship between ICT and education were identified and analysed. It
should be noted that this journal was versatile and representative of all the possible trends
and attitudes from any potential author on the issue being researched during the period
studied. In our analysis we distinguished 3 categories of authors, who all come from the
PRF and focus their interest on ICT. They are Faculty Members in Greek Universities,
who chiefly approach the issue through research, and teachers as much those spe-
cialised in STEM Education as those from the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Next we will present the results of the content analysis on the attitudes towards ICT
as they are expressed in the articles, as much from a quantitative as from a qualitative
perspective.

The quantitative perspective

The analysis of the ninety-seven articles revealed the trends which appear in the authors’
attitudes concerning the extent of changes brought about by the integration of ICT in
Greek STEM Education. In the specific articles pinpointed 349 references on authors’ at-
titudes towards ICT. As Table 1 shows, the majority of authors adopt a conservative atti-
tude (46.4%), while those who hold agnostic attitudes follow with a high percentage too
(36.1%). A satisfactory number of authors (12.4%) have moderate attitudes towards the
integration of ICT in STEM education, while the adoption of radical attitudes is a fairly
rare choice (5.1%). It is interesting that there is an absence of extreme radical attitudes
and related references to strong doubting of the existing educational system, something
which is to be expected, as we will discuss next.

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.72

Table 1. Scientific articles and references by attitude to ICTs category



In Table 2 an attempt it made at correlation between the scientific specialization and the
attitudes of the authors, as they are expressed through the content of the scientific journal
Contemporary Education, on the integration of ICTs into the teaching process. It appears
that independent of the category to which the authors belong, they chiefly adopt conser-
vative attitudes and secondly agnostic attitudes while almost 4/5 of the radical attitudes
are expressed by university faculty members.

An analysis of the proposals which are expressed in the articles, leads to the ascer-
tainment that a large percentage of the authors who adopt agnostic attitudes (34%) don’t
propose the integration of ICT into the teaching of particular objects of learning but almost
the same percentage (31%) propose their integration into the Information Science lesson.
Similarly, the authors with conservative (52%) or radical attitudes (60%) don’t discuss
the integration of ICT into some particular teaching object. In contrast, moderate attitudes
are accompanied primarily by proposals for the integration of ICTs into the Natural Sci-
ences. The authors, the majority of whom are primary or secondary school teachers, tend
to follow the ‘obvious’ long-established practices, without tending to utilise the dynamism
of the new means and their possible contribution to educational practice and learning
(Miller & Olson, 1995), following conservative forms of thought and practices (Jimoyiannis
& Siorenta, 2001).

From a study of the data in Graph 1 the dominance of two forms of discourse on the
incorporation of ICTs in Greek STEM Education between 1984 and 2006 emerge. Hence,
in this case the effective statements, which shape the dominant attitudes of truth towards
the integration of ICTs into the teaching practice in greek schools (Foucault, 1992; Jones
& Ball, 1994) on the part of the PRF authors whose articles were analysed, focus on
cases of agnostic or conservative attitudes. More specifically, the conservative attitude
appears to be the prevailing form of truth for the teaching use of ICTs at the beginning of
the 1980s when the teaching of information science was introduced into greek secondary
education, as at the beginning of the 21st century when we saw the reform of the curricu-
lum in greek compulsory education which was aimed at the implementation of the deci-
sions of the European leaders at the Treaty of Lisbon in 2000 for the integration of ICTs

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 73

Table 2. Correlation between attitudes and scientific specialization of authors in their writings on
the integration of ICTs in STEM education



into teaching practice (Koustourakis, 2007). Small changes in the development of the
discourse on ICTs, between the two predominant attitudes, can be observed at the end
of the 1990s where the version of agnostic attitudes prevails, as at the beginning of the
21st century where the agnostic co-exists with the conservative attitude while these two
constitute the two dominant forms of expression of discourse on ICTs. The moderate at-
titude is noted to a small extent in the authors’ discourse in the mid 1980s. Finally, mod-
erate attitudes appear to a very small extent in published discourse after 1997. It is the
moderate attitude which reappears, and the radical attitude which is noted for the first
time. In essence, this is when the discussion started in Greece on the reformative per-
spective of the integration of ICTs in the educational process.

The qualitative perspective

The qualitative approach to the articles led to the search for their fundamental assump-
tions, on the basis of which they were assigned to various attitude categories.

The articles in which the conservative attitude was dominant were based on three
main assumptions:

The computer is accepted as an additional tool, a “dynamic teaching aid which1.
helps children develop fundamental skills” (Michaelides, 1997, p. 73) a supplement that
contributes to the improvement of the teaching process and offers a “new form to the tra-
ditional way of teaching” (Bairaktaris, 1984, p. 113) “many opportunities in order to pres-
ent a concept better” (Papadaki, 1998, p. 67) without nevertheless the communicative
teaching environment differentiating especially as compared with the traditional.

Concern is expressed over the instrumental way in which the integration of ICTs in2.
education is perceived, for example over the fact that “it is restricted to its objective of pro-
viding some manner of education for all the population” (Milios, 1985, p. 68). This concern
often leads to the refusal to incorporate ICTs, while concerns, such as “the neglect of ideals
and lack of socio-political sensitivity” predominate (Gabriel & Tzepoglou, 1985, p. 77).

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.74

Graph 1. The development of attitudes in discourse on the integration of ICTs in Greek STEM
Education between 1984 and 2006



To this context of rejection and disapproval of technocratic approaches to edu-3.
cation is added the necessity of ensuring a broader education for the pupils, “ensuring
the student of a more general background of education, so that preparation of scientists
who are the equivalent of ‘specialist fools’ can be avoided” (Sofios, 1985, p. 21), and the
formation of critically thinking individuals. A position of ‘resistance’ to technocracy is often
expressed strongly, for example “students and progressive teachers to oppose the tech-
nocratic dehumanization” (Eleftheriou, 1985, p. 62).

The emphasis on agnostic attitude is based on the following three fundamental as-
sumptions:

Conventional teaching material and chiefly the school textbook are seen simply1.
as tools on the same level as ICTs, since the computer will become established as “the
intellectual tool that the pupils will use as spontaneously as a pen or a pencil…” (Bairak-
taris, 1985, p. 93) “…it will be able to supplement or even replace, the traditional textbook”
(Gasparakis, 1987, p. 101). 

The employment of the introduction of computers as progress and development,2.
despite the intense debate which points to the scepticism and critical mood (Csikszent-
mihalyi, 2000; Burgess, 2001). Hence, the introduction of ICTs is seen as an ‘a priori’
process of progress, development, improvement and upgrading of the learning process,
which should be sought in order for the opportunity for the “modernisation of education”
not to be missed (Bairaktaris, 1985, p. 95), “upgrading of primary and secondary educa-
tion and the demands of the times” (Tsolakidis, 1998, p. 98). A deterministically identified
course is then expressed for incorporation, which “constitutes an urgent need” (Jimoyian-
nis & Theodorou, 2000, p. 40) and which should be made use of “for the benefit of the
pupils and teachers of the future” (Jimoyiannis, 2002, p. 65). 

Remaining with given and particular existing attitudes on learning and the3.
teacher, the utilization of new means as tools, “users must resort to a variety of mecha-
nisms and make use of the search possibilities that are offered” (Nikolaou & Karagiorgi,
2003, p.75), without any prospect of the change they may bring about being noted.

The debate on the adoption of moderate attitudes for the integration of ICTs in the
teaching of STEM is based on:

Expectations of change in teaching methodology which would facilitate the acti-1.
vation of the pupil, investigation, experimentation and discovery since he would “partici-
pate actively in a cycle of feeling-action-thought and through investigation…to the
discovery and construction of knowledge” (Vahtsevanou-Stamouli, 2005, p. 170), provide
“effective supervision of the system and…intervention and modification of the properties
of the objects in the environment” (Bakas, 2005, p. 157) and establish the new profile of
the teacher “intermediator” (Karaminas, 2001, p. 84).

Within this context, organizational changes, like the conversion of the classroom2.
into a computer laboratory, the establishment of new rates of access to knowledge and
the transition from the serial1 to the hypertext2 mode of learning are discussed, so that
the pupil can “develop self activated learning” (Jorjakakis & Polakis, 1999, p. 91), as is
the change in the organization of the classroom, so as to permit a combination of indi-
vidual and group learning. 

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 75

__________________________________________

1 School knowledge is presented serially, placing one topic after the other. The attempt to present knowledge takes place
with the creation of a linear text in a course with a clear beginning and end (Chevallard, 1985; Ravanis, 2003, 2010).
2 The hypertext means of learning refers to “computer-based texts that are read in a nonlinear fashion and that are organized
on multiple dimensions…capable of being explored in different ways, with the different exploration paths producing what
are essentially multiple texts for the same topic” (Spiro & Jehng, 1990, p. 166). 



Innovative attitudes and expected changes, flexible and adapted to the needs3.
and interests of the pupils, founded on the “active self-education of the individuals them-
selves” (Kapodistria, 2000, p. 45), as well as the creation of open, innovative, flexible ap-
plications for “construction of worlds” where “the user can walk, fly, produce objects and
make them disappear, be transformed…” (Tsolakidis & Fokidis, 2004, p. 126).

In the thinking of the authors who express radical attitudes, the following fundamental
arguments prevail:

The computer transforms the social terms of the conduct of teaching, “in the con-1.
ditions of the teacher-pupil communication of the cognitive object” (Filippou, 1986, p. 85).
Moreover, a “trend towards the gradual replacement of the teacher” is predicted and ob-
viously a new, differentiated role for the educator since he “will be a kind of intermediary,
heading towards his own ultimate elimination” (Filippou, 1986, p. 86). 

The change in the means of social organization and orientation towards a “soci-2.
ety which is dominated by perhaps a significant technical innovation, rather than by po-
litical conflicts” (Ziamos, 1988, p. 104), in the “relationships of social reality and political
plans” (Chasapis, 2002, p. 54), towards a cultural reality of “interpenetration and osmosis”
(Kaitatzi-Whitlock, 2003, p. 376). 

The need for the deconstruction and criticism of the understood reality is evident,3.
since “significance comes from differences and not similarities, which are highlighted by
the removal of rationalism” (Self, 1997, p. 303), while the non-neutrality of the incorpora-
tion of ICT is revealed very early on, that is to say that the computer “isn’t such a simple,
colourless, neutral and apolitical hypothesis…” (Raptis, 1994, p. 14).

Discussion and conclusions 

In this paper we focussed our interest on the approach to and analysis of texts which
refer to ICTs and were expressed in the framework of the PRF and more specifically in
the scientific journal Contemporary Education, which due its circulation among the mem-
bers of the PRF, in other words primary and secondary school teachers, postgraduate
students and faculty members at greek universities (Bernstein, 2000), contributes to the
broader expression and diffusion of ideas on the issue in question. In addition, the authors
of the articles come from the PRF since they are faculty members and teachers, as much
from the sciences as from the humanities.

From the analysis of the research material it emerged that through the attitudes of the
authors towards ICTs not one version of discourse on their utilization in the educational
process appeared, but four, revealing the existence of a discontinuity between the specific
discourses (Foucault, 1978). Moreover, the findings of this research demonstrate the pre-
dominance in the official written discourse of the authors throughout the time period we
studied, of the conservative attitude (46.39%) and the agnostic attitude (36.08%). More
specifically, the conservative attitude expresses a tendency to persevere with the given
educational system. It is in the direction of a structural-functional position which aims at
the maintenance of the teaching approaches that are applied within the context of the
school classrooms and the development of mechanisms that will exclude or place con-
trols on potentially unforeseen situations arising from the introduction of new teaching
methods. The conservative comprises the dominant choice for the incorporation of ICTs
for all categories of authors. Hence, in the dominant discourse in the articles, an interest
can be discerned in a renewal of teaching practice, utilization of new technologies in the
same way as the traditional technologies (board, school book, various teaching aids for
the Natural Sciences and so on), for the use of ICTs as a tool that will reinforce the ex-

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.76



isting learning environment and bring about the activation of the pupils’ interests. However
beyond these choices recorded in the conservative framework of ideas, there doesn’t
appear to be anything else of interest.

The fact that a large part of the authors concur in their attitudes, and the encourage-
ment of the development of conservative thought and discourse, show a tendency for
good adaptation in this context and for this reason the ICTs are perceived as a means
that “has not brought about a widespread revolution in methods of teaching or in school
structure or organizations” (Hativa & Lesgold, 1996, p. 134) but in their greater part “they
generally provide either an add-on activity or simply technological versions of the work-
book approaches that are already prevalent in the nation’s classrooms” (Hadley & Shein-
gold, 1993, p. 265). The modification of long-established teaching methods, the
integration of innovative attitudes in teaching practice, such as for example the utilization
of ICTs in teaching, which have the potential to modify the working environment is neither
obvious, nor easy.

Also significant is the adoption – to a great extent – of an agnostic position by the au-
thors of the articles studied. The authors with agnostic attitudes adopt positions of paral-
lelism between the book and the computer, they see it as yet another tool in the existing
variety of tools for the children. At the same time, they developed a rhetoric which func-
tions as symbolic pressure for the integration of ICT and contributes as expected to a
determinist acceptance and incorporation of ICTs. The mere existence of computers is
considered progress and development and their incorporation in administration and ed-
ucational process constitutes a necessity, without reference being made to further
prospects for change. In fact it constitutes a process of neutral and determinist signifi-
cance for education. And a fundamental admission for them: technology exists, consti-
tutes progress, is at the disposal of education and should be made use of to its
advantage.

The agnostic attitude which appears in a large number of articles and references re-
veals a change in the discourse on ICTs due to the influence of the actual circumstances
in the specific time period (Foucault, 1991a) which were created for the teachers and
that came from a series of factors such as: the abrupt, mass and pressing introduction
of computers into the schools, the inadequate prior training of the teachers, the lack of
preparation of the bodies involved, the enthusiasm and the vague but excessive optimism
regarding the variety of possibilities their integration could potentially bring about in the
educational framework of STEM teaching, pressure from the markets and the parents,
the emphasis placed on the development of educational software. In addition, another
strong factor, which leads to an agnostic attitude is perhaps a rhetoric in the institutional
texts which is without grounds or a relationship with reality, concerning the direct necessity
for the digital literacy of all within the framework of the society of knowledge. Computers
exist and the contextual framework exerts pressure for their incorporation, which should
be realized with no thought for change and their use.

The circulation of the discourse of ICT within society as we approach and enter the
21st century, with the gradually increasing familiarity of teachers, pupils as well as a large
part of society and especially the young, with the computer contributes to the transfor-
mation of the corresponding attitudes on the necessity and usefulness of its utilization in
everyday life (Foucault, 1977, 1991a). So, of particular interest is the appearance after
1997 of a moderate attitude for the incorporation of ICTs, a reformative utilization of them
for the shaping of new constructivist, collaborative, inquiry based learning environments,
whose supporters are chiefly authors who are STEM teachers. The dynamically devel-

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 77



oping potential, brought about through technology, for the regulation of more effective
access to the ‘gap’ which is created between the pupils’ every day spontaneous knowl-
edge and scientific knowledge is highlighted, with the supplementing of the pupils’ inad-
equate direct experience and the creation of environments of direct experience (e.g.
virtual reality, simulator). In addition, here we meet too the demand for the ‘construction’
of the ‘actively self-educating’ flexible pupil, of the life-long learner. The integration of
technology aims at the solution of practical problems, in some changes within the frame-
work and more innovative attitudes and perspectives on teaching methodologies.

In these articles, which appear after 1997, the change from teacher-centred to pupil-
centred relations is described as well as the change to environments where with the use
of ICT the activation of the pupils, investigation, experimentation, discovery and the es-
tablishment of the teacher ‘intermediator’ are facilitated, and also some changes within
the framework towards individualised learning rates of access to knowledge.

A small portion of authors adopts a radical, critical and sceptical position towards com-
puters, revealing ‘ideologies’ that are dispersed across society, exercise ‘symbolic control’
and exert pressure in the direction of misguided acceptance of the incorporation of ICTs
in schools. University authors, while the majority of them held conservative attitudes, as
we have already mentioned, to a small degree, although proportionally the biggest of all
the categories, support radical attitudes.

Some focus on revealing the “internal conflicts” of the topic studied, with the aim of
maintaining the ‘other’ rarer ‘eye’ in the discourse on the integration of ICT and certain
alternative proposals. The authors highlight the radical transformation of the communica-
tive learning relationship and the gradual replacement of the ‘teacher’ with the computer,
and the transfer to ‘disintermediation’ and the creation of a new ‘hybrid’ form of educa-
tional communicative relationship.

Moreover, the complete absence of extreme radical positions in the authors of the ar-
ticles studied is noted, which is to be absolutely expected since some extreme expres-
sions of opinion – like extreme radicalism or deschooling – are not imaginable and do
not represent feasible choices for greek society and the educational reality and by ex-
tension for the developing dialogue.

This research revealed the attitudes of university and school teachers regarding the
integration of ICT into education as they were expressed in their articles between 1984
and 2006. This expression allows the study of the potential influence of similar attitudes
on the political-educational choices that were made as much during this period as well
as over the following years and until today. It also provides an opportunity to study today
potential changes in related articles and so assess the weight of experience of the appli-
cations in the attitudes of today’s researchers and teachers. Finally, the study of ap-
proaches, as Aviram & Tami’s (2004) framework foresees, in other words, of the attitudes
towards the objectives of the integration of ICTs in education, would give a complete un-
derstanding of the general trends in the attitudes expressed by groups whose thinking
and action influence educational applications.

References

Albirini, A. A. (2006). Teacher’s attitudes toward information and communication technologies: the
case of Syrian EFL teachers. Journal of Computers and Education, 47, 373-398.

Aviram, R., & Tami, D. (2004). The Impact of ICT on Education: The three opposed paradigms.
The lacking discourse. Unpublished manuscript, Beer-Sheva University. Israel. Retrieved from
http://www.reiseducational.org/contenuti/file/ict_impact.pdf.

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.78



Baylor, A., & Ritchie, D. (2002). What factors facilitate teacher skill, teacher morale, and perceived
student learning in technology-using classrooms? Journal of Computers & Education, 39(1),
395-414.

Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity. Theory, research, critique. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Burgess, Y. (2001). The Myth of Progress. Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications.
Capan, S. A. (2012). Teacher Attitudes towards Computer Use in EFL Classrooms. Frontiers of

Language and Teaching, 3, 248-254. 
Chevallard, Y. (1985). La transposition didactique: Du savoir savant au savoir enseigné. Grenoble :

La Pensée Chauvage.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). The Mythic Potential of Evolution. Journal of Religion and Science,

35, 25-38. 
Cure, F., & Ozdener, N. (2008).Teachers’ success in using ICT and their attitudes towards ICT. H.

U. Journal of Education, 34, 41-53.
Ertmer, P. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology inte-

gration. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 53(4), 25-39.
Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., & Sendurur, P. (2012). Teacher

beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship. Computers & Education,
59, 423-435.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory
and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Foley, J., & Ojeda, C. (2008). Teacher beliefs, best practice, technology usage in the classroom: A
problematic relationship. In K. McFerrin et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of society for information
technology and teacher education international conference 2008 (pp. 4110-4117). Chesa-
peake, Virginia, USA: AACE.

Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language. New York:
Pantheon. 

Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish. New York: Pantheon. 
Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality: An introduction. Hammonsworth: Penguin.
Foucault M. (1991a). Politics and The Study of Discourse. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon & P. Miller

(Eds), The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality (pp. 53-72). Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.

Foucault M. (1991b). Questions of Method. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon & P. Miller (Eds.), The Fou-
cault Effect: Studies in Governmentality (pp. 73-86). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Goos, M., Galbraith, P., Renshaw, P., & Geiger, V. (2003). Perspectives on technology mediated
learning in secondary school mathematics classrooms. Journal of Mathematical Behavior,
22(1), 73-89.

Hadley, M., & Sheingold, K. (1993). Commonalties and distinctive patterns in teachers' integration
of computers. American Journal of Education, 101, 261–315. 

Hativa, N. & Lesgold, A. (1996). Situational effects in classroom technology implementations: Un-
fulfilled expectations and unexpected outcomes. In S. T. Kerr (Ed.), Technology and the future
of schooling: Ninety-fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, part 2
(131-171). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Jimoyiannis, A., & Komis, V. (2006). Exploring secondary education teachers’ attitudes and belief-
stowards ICT adoption in education, Themes in Education, 7(2), 181-204.

Jimoyiannis, A., & Komis, V. (2007). Examining teachers’ beliefs about ICT in education: Implica-
tions of a teacher preparation programme. Teacher Development, 11(2), 149-173. 

Jones, D., & Ball, S. (1994). Michel Foucault and the Discourse of Education. In J. Solomon & G.
Kouzelis (Eds.), Discipline and Knowledge (pp. 169-178). Athens: E.M.E.A.

Juniu, S. (2005). Digital Democracy in Higher Education Bridging the Digital Divide. Innovate Jour-
nal of Online Education, 2(1). Retrieved from http://Innovateonline.info.

Kaitatzi-Whitlock, S. (2003). The state of Information. Athens: Kritiki Editions. 
Karagiorgi, Y., & Charalambous, K. (2006). ICT in-service training and school practices: in search

for the impact. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(4), 395-411.

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 79



Kay, R. H. (2006). Evaluating strategies used to incorporate technology into preservice education:
A review of the literature. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(4), 383-408.

Kocak Usluel, Y., Kuskaya Mumcu, F., & Demiraslan, Y. (2007). ICT in the Learning – Teaching
Proccess: Teachers’ views on the Integration and Obstacles. Hacettepe Universitesi Eitim
Fakiltesi Dergisi, 32, 164-178.

Korukonda, A. R., & Finn, S. (2003). An investigation of framing and scaling as confounding vari-
ables in information outcomes: The case of technophobia. Information Sciences, 155(1/2),
79-88. 

Koustourakis, G. (2007). The new educational policy for the reform of the curriculum and the
change of school knowledge in the case of Greek compulsory education. International Studies
in Sociology of Education, 17(1/2), 131-146.

Koustourakis, G., & Panagiotakopoulos, C. (2008). ICT in the Primary Education: effects and prob-
lems from the effort of its application in pedagogical act. In V. Komis (Ed.), 4th Pan-Hellenic
Conference. Teaching Informatics (pp. 425-434). Patras: New Technologies Publications.

Kripendorff, K. (2004). Content Analysis. An Introduction to Its Methodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.

Macleod, H. (2005). What role can educational multimedia play in narrowing the digital divide? In-
ternational Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 1(4), 42-53.

Miller, L., & Olson, J. (1995). How computers live in schools. Educational Leadership, 53, 74-77.
Morris, D. (2010).Are teachers’ technophobes? Investigating professional competency in the use

of ICT to support teaching and learning. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 4010-
4015.

Panagiotakopoulos, C., & Koustourakis, G. (2005). The application of Information and Communi-
cation Technology in education: International, European and national developments. Arethas.
Scientific Annals of the Department of Primary Education of the School of Humanities and
Social Sciences of the University of Patras, 3, 293-310.

Pelgrum, W. J. (1993). Attitudes of school principals and teachers towards computers: Does it mat-
ter what they think? Studies in Educational Evaluation, 19(2), 199-212. 

Pitsoe, V., & Letseka, M. (2013). Foucault’s Discourse and Power: Implications for Instructionist
Classroom Management. Open Journal of Philosophy, 3(1), 23-28.

Project Tomorrow (2011). The new 3 E’s of education: Enabled, engaged, empowered-how today’s
educators are advancing a new vision for teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://www.to-
morrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU10_3EofEducation%28Students%29.pdf.

Ravanis, K. (2003). Introduction to Physics Didactics. Athens: New Technologies Publishers.
Ravanis, K. (2010). La transformación didáctica: de las materias académias a las prácticas esco-

lares. In G. Pappas (ed.), In Actas de congreso “La lengua griega en América Latina” (pp.
143-149), , Buenos Aires-Patras: Universidad de Patras.

Rogers, E. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. New York: The Free Press.
Rosen, L., & Weil, M. (1995). The psychological impact of technology from a global perspective: A

Study of technological sophistication and technophobia in university students from twenty-
three coun-tries. Computers in Human Behavior, 11(1), 95-133. 

Self, J. (1997). From constructionism to deconstructionism: anticipating trends in educational styles.
British Journal of Engineering Education, 22(3), 295-307. 

Schoepp, K. (2005) Barriers to Technology Integration in a Technology-Rich Environment, Learning
and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives. Retrieved from
http://www.zu.ac.ae/lthe/vol2no1/lthe02_05.pdf.

Siorenta, A., & Jimoyiannis, A. (2008). Physics instruction in secondary schools: An investigation
of teachers' beliefs towards physics laboratory and ICT. Research in Science & Technological
Education, 26(2), 185-202.

Sharma, K. (2011). The Role of ICT in Higher Education for the 21st Century: ICT as A Change
Agent for Education. International Journal of Computer Science & Information Technology,
VSRD-IJCSIT, 1(6), 382-391.

Spiro, R. J., & Jehng, J. C. (1990). Cognitive flexibility and Hypertext:Theory ad Technology for the
nonlinear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter, In D. Nix & R. J. Spiro

K. Nikolakopoulou et al.80



(Eds.), Cognition, education and Multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology (pp. 163-
205). Hillsdaale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum.

Todman, J. (2000). Gender differences in computer anxiety among university entrants since 1992.
Computers & Education, 34(1), 27-35. 

Towndrow, P., & Vallance, M. (2004). Using IT in the Language Classroom: A guide for instructors
and students in Asia. Singapore: Longman.

Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., & Waterhouse, F. (1999). Relations between teachers’ approaches to
teaching and students’ approaches to learning. Higher Education, 37, 57-70.

Wen, J. R., & Shih, W. L. (2008). Exploring the information literacy competence standards for ele-
mentary and high school teachers. Computers & Education, 50(3), 787-806. 

Whisnant, C. J. (2012). Foucault & Discourse: A Handout for HIS 389. Retrieved from
http://webs.wofford.edu/whisnantcj/his389/foucualt_discourse.pdf.

Appendix

Primary source material: Articles from the journal “Contemporary Education”

Eleftheriou, K. (1985). Technocracy and Education. 20, 58-61.
Bairaktaris, T. (1984). The advantages of the Teaching of Mathematics with the Aid of Computers.

15, 108-111.
Bairaktaris, T. (1985). Thoughts and proposals on the organisation required for a serious attempt

at the entry of computers into education. 20, 93-96.
Bakas, C. (2005). Creation and modification of cognitive models with the use of virtual environments

projected on a computer. 143, 146-161.
Chasapis, D. (2002). Society of Information. 122, 52-54.
Filippou, D. (1986). The introduction of small computers into education. 31, 82-88.
Gabriel, A., & Tzepoglou, S. (1985). Technocracy and School Vocational Guidance. 20, 75-78.
Gasparakis, G. (1987). The teaching of chemistry with the help of computers. Brief presentation of

some Programs. 32, 98-103.
Jimoyiannis, A. (2002). Preparation for the School of Society and Information. 122, 55-65.
Jimoyiannis, A., & Theodorou, E. (2000). Information Science laboratories in secondary education.

115, 32-41.
Jorjakakis, F., & Polakis, G. (2000). Information Technology in education: Questions from the per-

spective of the teachers. 109, 83-92.
Kapodistria, A. (2000). New technologies in education. 115, 42-47.
Karaminas, I. (2001). Internet and the educational Process. 121, 76-84.
Milios, G. (1985). The limits of technocracy in education, 20, 62-68.
Michaelidis, M. (1997). Computers in Cypriot Public Education. 94, 62-64.
Nikolaou, A. & Karagiorgi, G. (2003). Search Engines. 133, 68-75.
Papadaki, M. (1998). Teaching Mathematics with Computers. 99, 57-67.
Raptis, A. (1994). The onslaught of educational software. 20, 12-14.
Sofios, T. (1985). Technocracy and Economics Education. 20, 69-74.
Tsolakidis, K. (1998). Information Technology and the Technology of Education in Dodecanese Pri-

mary Schools. 100, 89-97.
Tsolakidis, K., & Fokidis, E. (2004). Virtual Reality and Education. A first questioning. 135, 118-127.
Vachtsevanou-Stamouli, M. (2005). The contribution of the use of simulations and games on the

topic of the environment in environmental education. 143, 162-175.
Ziamos, D. (1988). Education and Information Science in contemporary society. 38, 100-108.

Received: October 3, 2016
Accepted: November 14, 2016

The Discourse for the Integration of ICT in STEM Education in Greece 81