ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
The integration of the digital methodologies into primary education, i.e. 'Classroom Teaching and Learning' (PdPc) has gained an ever increasing importance in the scenario where is the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This Special Literature Review (SLR) considers the deployment of digital approaches in PdPc, describing the contributions made by this to increasing student engagement, improving learning outcomes and to addressing diverse learning needs. Despite these challenges, lack of access to digital devices, poor connectivity to the internet, poor teacher training and poor reflex to change in traditional teaching methods pose some problems with effective integration. The review underlines the need for professional development of educators, an investment in infrastructure and supportive policies from administration in order to overcome those obstacles. Through these efforts can we transform digital approaches into opportunities to make learning more engaging and less dependent on traditional standardized approaches, and can we make learning more personalized and yet scalable.There is still much work to be done to develop specific strategies and tools that will help teachers and students in their digital transition.
Aloraini, S. (2021). The impact of using multimedia on students’ academic achievement in the College of Education at King Saud University. Journal of King Saud University - Languages and Translation, 24(2), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksult.2012.05.002
Berson, I. R., Berson, M. J., Dennis, D. V., & Powell, R. L. (2017). Leveraging literacy. In The Wiley Handbook of Social Studies Research (pp. 414–439). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118768747.ch18
Botha, A., & Herselman, M. (2015). A teacher tablet toolkit to meet the challenges posed by 21st-century rural teaching and learning environments. South African Journal of Education, 35(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v35n4a1218
Camilleri, M. A., & Camilleri, A. C. (2016). Digital learning resources and ubiquitous technologies in education. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 22(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-016-9287-7
ChanLin, L., Hong, J., Horng, J., Chang, S., & Chu, H. (2016). Factors influencing technology integration in teaching: A Taiwanese perspective. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 43(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703290500467467
Chigona, A., Chigona, W., & Davids, Z. (2014). Educators’ motivation on integration of ICTs into pedagogy: Case of disadvantaged areas. South African Journal of Education, 34(3), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.15700/201409161051
Daud, R., Jalil, Z. A., & Gunawan, M. F. (2015). Community college students’ perception towards digital learning in Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 1798–1802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.389
Department for Education | South Australia. (n.d.). Digital technologies in education literature review. Retrieved from https://www.education.sa.gov.au/docs/ict/digital-strategy-microsite/c3l-digital-technologies-in-education-literature-review.pdf
Ebersöhn, L., Loots, T., Eloff, I., & Ferreira, R. (2015). In-service teacher training to provide psychosocial support and care in high-risk and high-need schools: School-based intervention partnerships. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(3), 267–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2015.1044226
ERIC - Education Resources Information Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1096028.pdf
Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher technology change. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2010.10782551
Fernandes, G. W., Rodrigues, A. M., & Ferreira, C. A. (2018). Professional development and use of digital technologies by science teachers: A review of theoretical frameworks. Research in Science Education, 50(2), 673–708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9707-x
Flavin, M. (2017). Disruptive technology enhanced learning: The use and misuse of digital technologies in higher education. Springer.
Fullan, M. (2012). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge. Pearson Education.
Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. E. (2009). Learning, teaching, and scholarship in a digital age. Educational Researcher, 38(4), 246–259. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x09336671
Harwell, S. H., Gunter, S., Montgomery, S., Shelton, C., & West, D. (2001). Learning environments research. Learning Environments Research, 4(3), 259–286. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1014412120805
Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. (2005). Education goes digital. Communications of the ACM, 48(10), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.1145/1089107.1089139
Howard, S. K. (2013). Risk-aversion: Understanding teachers’ resistance to technology integration. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 22(3), 357–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939x.2013.802995
Impacts of digital technologies on education and factors influencing schools' digital capacity and transformation: A literature review. (2022, November 21). SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-022-11431-8
Jo Shan Fu. (n.d.). ICT in Education: A Critical Literature Review and It's Implications. ERIC - Education Resources Information Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182651.pdf
Kanmani, B., & Babu, K. M. (2014). Leveraging technology in outcome-based education. Proceedings of the International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education, 415-421. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1931-6_48
Kumar Basak, S., Wotto, M., & Bélanger, P. (2018). E-learning, M-learning and D-learning: Conceptual definition and comparative analysis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 15(4), 191-216. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042753018785180
Leu, D. J., Forzani, E., Rhoads, C., Maykel, C., Kennedy, C., & Timbrell, N. (2014). The new Literacies of online research and comprehension: Rethinking the reading achievement gap. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), 37-59. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.85
Lewis, K. O., Cidon, M. J., Seto, T. L., Chen, H., & Mahan, J. D. (2014). Leveraging e-learning in medical education. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 44(6), 150–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2014.01.004
Livingstone, S. (2012). Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 9–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2011.577938
McKnight, K., O'Malley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a digital age: How educators use technology to improve student learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856
McLaren, S. V. (2017). Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards teaching and learning manual technical drawing in a digital age. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 18(2), 167–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-006-9020-2
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2019). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Novak, E. (2015). A critical review of digital storyline-enhanced learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(3), 431–453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015-9372-y
Panconesi, G., & Guida, M. (2017). Handbook of research on collaborative teaching practice in virtual learning environments. IGI Global.
Rana, K., & Rana, K. (2020). ICT integration in teaching and learning activities in higher education: A case study of Nepal’s teacher education. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 8(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.17220/mojet.2020.01.003
Satria, W., Iskandar, I., & Dewanti, R. (2022). The effect of blended learning and digital literacy on students' reading comprehension. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Innovation in Education. https://doi.org/10.5220/0012201400003738
Schüler, A. (2019). The integration of information in a digital, multi-modal learning environment. Learning and Instruction, 59, 76–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.12.005
Srinagesh, C., Bhanu Prasad, T., & Sudheer Reddy, K. (2014). Leveraging technology for creating awareness of problem-solving skills to engineering students. 2010 International Conference on Technology for Education. https://doi.org/10.1109/t4e.2010.5550107
Stork, M. G. (2017). Implementing a digital learning initiative: A case study in K-12 classrooms. Journal of Formative Design in Learning, 2(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41686-017-0013-1
Straker, L., Harris, C., Joosten, J., & Howie, E. K. (2017). Mobile technology dominates school children’s IT use in an advantaged school community and is associated with musculoskeletal and visual symptoms. Ergonomics, 61(5), 658–669. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2017.1401671
Sung, Y., Chang, K., & Liu, T. (2016). The effects of integrating mobile devices with teaching and learning on students' learning performance: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Computers & Education, 94, 252–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.008
Vukelich, C. (2015). Supporting young children's language learning through teachers' use of evidence-based instructional strategies. Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association, 9(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2015.9.1.1
Welcome to Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/24843/1/00489224.pdf
Yang, H. H., & MacLeod, J. (2019). Blended learning in teacher education. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.276
Shanmuganathan, K., & Nasri, N. M. (2025). Implementation of Digital Approaches in Teaching and Learning in Primary Schools. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 14(1), 171–187.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode