Technology integration in Southeast Asian university history education: a qualitative study

Abstract

This study investigates how university history lecturers in Vietnam,
the Philippines, and Indonesia perceive and integrate technology into history instruction within diverse socio-cultural and institutional contexts. The study was conducted in response to persistent challenges in history education, including lecture-dominated instruction, students’ perception of history as a memorization-based subject, and the limited pedagogical use of digital tools in humanities education. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field notes involving three university history lecturers from the selected countries. Thematic analysis revealed that lecturers viewed technology as an important tool for enhancing student engagement, interactivity, and contextual understanding of history. Although participants faced challenges such as unequal internet access, varying levels of digital literacy, and limited institutional support, they adopted adaptive strategies including gamified learning, multimedia integration, and digital literacy guidance. An important finding is that students were not only technology users but also active producers of digital historical content such as podcasts, videos, and timelines. The study concludes that effective technology integration in history education requires pedagogical intentionality, institutional support, and context-sensitive digital practices. The findings contribute to digital pedagogy discourse in Southeast Asian humanities education.