A Model for Educational Technology Adoption in Developing Countries

This paper develops a Model for Educational Technology Adoption for Developing Countries (ETADC). Existing models lack education-specific factors and fail to consider local contexts which limits their applicability in Developing Countries (DCs). The ETADC model addresses gaps by integrating foundational theories with local and educational factors within the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework that empowers educators to create meaningful teaching-learning experiences that prepare students for a tech-driven world. The study aims to create a model tailored for DCs and validate the model’s superiority, and generalizability across varied educational settings. The ETADC framework includes six components—four sourced from established theories and two based on research into the experiences of in-service and pre-service teachers in DCs regarding educational technology adoption. These components formulate an appropriate model for evaluating, identifying, and implementing educational technologies within DCs educational context. Validation through meta-analysis and Two-Stage Structural Equation Modeling applied in R studio using data from 30 high-impact studies (N = 8934) confirmed the model’s effectiveness with a strong statistical fit, high explanatory power, and significant path coefficients. ETADC offers a practical guide for adopting educational technology worldwide, particularly in resource-restricted environments. Using the model, some educational technologies have been evaluated for further adoption.