South African pre-service teachers' under-preparedness to teach with Information Communication Technologies

Abstract

With the growing acceptance of the role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning, it is expected that recent graduates from teacher education would be adequately prepared to integrate the ICTs into their teaching. Nonetheless, research and anecdotal evidence show that many newly qualified teachers feel under-prepared to teach with the technologies. This paper explores the underlying causes of this feeling of under-preparedness. The study employed a qualitative research approach: data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with randomly selected pre-service teachers from a teacher education institution from South Africa. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge theory was used as a theoretical underpinning of the study. Analysis of study shows that the main culprit of the under-preparedness is the type of instructions the pre-service teachers receive during teacher training. There is therefore a need in the teacher education to ensure quality and digital age appropriate instructions are offered to the pre-service teachers during their teacher training.