Аннотация:As Japan rushes to realize the futuristic dream of a “super smart” Society 5.0, perceptual barriers to a concurrent push to digitize education have emerged, particularly in the context of higher education. While the English-language literature in Japan has largely examined the affordances and efficacy of educational technology (edtech) through student-oriented studies, teacher attitudes toward edtech could be a good indicator of digital competency, and may therefore be key to realizing successful learning outcomes. This dissertation sought to obtain an enriched perspective of the barriers to edtech, primarily in the HE context of Japanese EFL, through a qualitative research synthesis (QRS) of teacher perceptions reported in 17 qualitative and mixed methods studies. Adhering to a framework for QRS proposed by Chong and Plonsky (2021), the results generated from a thematic analysis (TA) of the primary data suggest that teacher confidence in the implementation of edtech remains a key barrier, which may be exacerbated by a perceived lack of support and training. This aligns with a dominant strain of current research focused on advancing teacher digital competency by addressing reported teacher confidence. As HE teachers in Japan are caught up in the push for Society 5.0, the way forward may require a sustained and collaborative effort from all key stakeholders.
