QCA study on promoting intelligent teaching tools in schools: What works according to teachers?

The integration of intelligent technology into primary and secondary education has become crucial for teaching innovation. This study explored how intelligent teaching tools spread through schools from teachers' perspectives, drawing on diffusion of innovation and bounded rationality theories. A crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis was employed to analyze 35 cases from teachers in southern China. The results showed that: (i) the diffusion of intelligent teaching tools was the result of a combination of six factors including teachers’ personal innovativeness, individual perceived risk, innovative properties of the tools, channels of tool communication, school climate, and types of adoption decisions; (ii) according to the conditions and scope of use, three main paths to promote the diffusion were identified: Organization-Driven path, Resource-Cultivated path, and External-Triggered path. The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications for advancing intelligent technology application initiatives at regional and school levels, as well as for further research on qualitative comparative analysis methods in education research.