Using technology for enhancing teaching and learning in Bangladesh: challenges and consequences

Abstract

The increasing use of media and technologies for enhancing teaching and learning is an important current trend to overcome the challenges of schooling and teacher training in the changing world. Many countries in the Global South are trying to adopt technologies in their school and teacher training systems to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Though some recent research shows impacts of using technologies for enhancing teaching and learning in technology-poor contexts, no research actually addresses the challenges and difficulties associated with using the technologies in those specific contexts. This article presents interview data derived from secondary schools teachers in Bangladesh, in a context beset with many difficulties associated with technology use. In a pilot project, Apple iPods were introduced in 2009 to explore the challenges and consequences of using technology in schools. The data reveal the implications for the teachers’ professional development when they used the iPod as a multimedia player to access educational resources made available to support teaching and learning. This article has also thrown some light on current debates about using technologies for enhancing teaching and learning in technology-poor contexts.

Keywords:

• technology
• teaching and learning
• teachers’ professional development
• technology-poor contexts
• Bangladesh

Acknowledgements

The authors thank UKAID for funding the EIA programme and the UCEP Bangladesh authority for allowing them to carry out the research in schools. They are also very grateful to their colleagues from the EIA Base Office in Dhaka, Bangladesh who provided enormous support during the fieldwork. The authors are also very grateful to two colleague TDCs from EIA Base Office – Mohammad Arifuzzaman and Yeasmin Ali – for working with the lead author during fieldwork. They also thank the UCEP SAs and the teachers who take part in research activities and helped to understand the contexts.

Notes

The head of a UCEP school is called the School Administrator, although the head of a school in the mainstream education system is called Headteacher.