Systematic Review of Educational Technology Courses for Pre-Service Teachers: Trends and Challenges

Abstract

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, information technology has become a crucial part of education. Information technology has a significant impact on educational research and development, and it is also a common requirement in pre-service teachers' education and the overall teachers' education system. Moreover, the reform of elementary education poses new challenges to teachers' literacy structure. The educational technology courses have become compulsory courses for pre-service teachers at a university. This systematic review employed the PRISMA guidelines to analyse existing literature on educational technology courses for pre-service teachers. A total of 28 relevant articles published between 2010 and 2025 were retrieved from two major databases: Scopus and Web of Science. The review focused on exploring the trends, challenges, and future directions in designing and implementing these courses. The review identified four key elements commonly emphasized in the design of educational technology courses for pre-service teachers: (i) integration of the TPACK framework, (ii) lesson design and teaching plan practices, (iii) ethical and inclusive practices, and (iv) professional growth or professional development. The TPACK framework appeared as the most dominant trend in 23 of the reviewed articles, while ethical and inclusive practices were the least addressed, mentioned in only 6 articles. The key challenges identified include limited contextual integration of technology within specific subject areas, insufficient practical experience in lesson design, lack of structured content on ethics and inclusivity, and inadequate support for continuous professional growth and lifelong learning. By systematically reviewing existing literature, this study provides a comprehensive overview of development of the educational technology courses for pre-service teachers and proposes effective course design to support the professional development of pre-service teachers’ information literacy.