Teacher Readiness and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Use in Classrooms: A South African Case Study

Abstract

Throughout the world, there have been efforts to transform the 21 st century classrooms by introducing digital technology. Districts have been preparing their teachers to use ICT in classrooms thus ensuring that their schools are on the right path for globalisation. Recently, in one South African province Gauteng, the Minister of Education announced that from 2015 tablets would be introduced for teachers and learners as the traditional chalkboard would be replaced by digital technology. This qualitative study sought to explore the views of teachers in that (Gauteng) province. Twenty-five teachers from five schools were observed as they used ICT to teach in their classrooms. Semi-structured interviews were also used in soliciting the teachers’ views. The conclusions show that although many teachers are agreeable to change initiatives and innovations in education, ICT can present much uncertainty and the majority are made to feel inadequate. Teachers maintain that without proper training, computers will expose their inadequacies in the classroom. The younger teachers were more tolerant of the changes than their older counterparts who found the introduction of ICT daunting. The study’s conclusions illustrate that the success of digital technology in classrooms will depend more on teacher competence as well as positive attitudes towards ICT.