The Discrepancy Between Teachers’ Perceptions and Students’ Experience Regarding the Teachers’ Watchfulness in Technology-Enriched Classrooms

This study highlights educators’ challenges in orchestrating student interactions within technology-rich environments. Specifically, it investigates teachers’ perceptions and their students’ experiences in technology-enriched classrooms, focusing on internal school policies, provided ICT infrastructure, and teacher-student engagement with digital devices during lessons. A quantitative case study framework was employed for data collection. Data was gathered from two schools using online questionnaires distributed to secondary school teachers and students, resulting in 307 respondents. The findings reveal a significant gap between school policies and the actual use of digital devices in classrooms, indicating that despite restrictions on mobile phone usage and provided infrastructure, students frequently use their smartphones for educational purposes. Statistical analyses using SPSS revealed notable differences in teachers’ perceptions and students’ experiences using digital devices in a classroom. The results emphasize the need for schools to revise internal regulations and for educators to adopt more effective strategies to foster an equitable and focused technology-enhanced learning environment.