Managing Information and Communication Technology in South African Classrooms: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a study that explored the management of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. In particular it focuses on the use of ICT in the pre-service teacher’s classroom in the South African context. The study was interventionist in that pre-service teachers were trained how to use ICT in teaching and learning, and were then followed into the teaching practice classroom where they were observed as to how they used the technology and managed it. Data for the project was also collected through semi-structured interviews with the pre-service teachers and through the researchers’ reflection. The results showed that the pre-service teachers, who in this case were all digital natives, are willing to use ICT for teaching, but lack the skills to manage ICT in the classroom. The results further showed that the motivation to use and integrate ICT in the classroom may not be sufficient to ensure the effective integration thereof, that is, the teachers still require management. Further, the article recommends the importance of higher education institution lecturers as role models in the use and management of ICT.

Keywords:

• education
• ICT management
• pre-service teacher
• South Africa