From instructor to designer: How technology integration reshapes pedagogical practices in science classrooms

Systematic reviews have identified trends in educational technology adoption and teacher perceptions, but changes in the professional role of science teachers have not been systematically synthesised. This study reports on a protocol-based meta-synthesis and quantitative content analysis of peer-reviewed research (2020–2025) on changes in the role of teachers in science education following technology integration. Qualitative (45%), quantitative (23%) and mixed-methods (32%) studies were synthesised through a common coding framework; no statistical pooling was attempted, because the reported outcomes are not commensurable. Systematic searches of ERIC, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus yielded 1,847 records; screening and quality appraisal resulted in the inclusion of 100 studies. The analysis revealed four dimensions of transformation (epistemological, methodological, social and temporal) and enabling and constraining conditions. Methodological transformation was the most common (72%), followed by social (65%), epistemological (49%) and temporal (31%) transformations. Professional development and institutional support were key enablers, whereas time constraints, technical barriers and cultural resistance were barriers to change. Inquiry-based digital investigation was the most common expression of methodological change. Cross-tabulation linked key enabling and constraining conditions to specific transformation dimensions. These are patterns of co-reporting, not causal associations. Taken together, the evidence describes a conditional rather than an automatic movement from instructor towards designer: technology integration is reported to reshape teaching practice where it is accompanied by pedagogical design capacity, sustained professional development and institutional support and to remain at the level of substitution where those conditions are absent.