The Reality of Using Digital Educational Platforms in Teaching the Arabic Language and the Obstacles to Their Use in Iraq: A Field Study

Abstract

The current study aimed to identify the reality of using digital educational platforms among Arabic language teachers in Iraqi secondary schools, to monitor the most significant obstacles hindering their effective use, and to examine differences in usage and obstacles according to gender, academic qualification, and years of experience. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The instrument was administered to a sample of 260 male and female Arabic language teachers in public secondary schools in Baghdad Governorate, selected using stratified random sampling. The research instrument consisted of a 38-item questionnaire distributed across two main dimensions: the reality of using digital educational platforms, and the obstacles hindering their use. The main findings indicated that Arabic language teachers used digital educational platforms at a moderate level, while technical and training-related obstacles were rated at a high level, whereas obstacles related to teachers' personal attitudes were rated at a low level. No statistically significant differences were found at the significance level (α = 0.05) due to gender in both dimensions, while significant differences were found in favor of postgraduate holders regarding academic qualification, and with respect to years of experience, the more than ten years group showed higher scores in the obstacles dimension. The study recommended the necessity of training Arabic language teachers on employing digital educational platforms and providing the necessary digital infrastructure in Iraqi schools.