The ICT development needs of South African Science and Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

Teachers need to develop 21st Century skills and be competent users of ICT to integrate it successfully in their everyday instruction and learning activities. The goal of this Secondary Data Analysis (SDA) study is to determine the proportion of South African Science and Mathematics teachers who experience a lack of ICT-related skills and pedagogical skills related to the integration of ICT in instruction and learning as an obstacle. Furthermore it has been investigated whether these teachers are willing to be trained. This study is a response to the distressing outcome of the The Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES 2006), an international survey that was conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), indicating that South Africa has the lowest ICT integration among the SITES 2006 participating countries (16% for Science and 18% for Mathematics). The current study followed a basic SDA of the SITES 2006 dataset relating to South African Science and Mathematics teachers and adopted an integrated qualitative-quantitative approach. The results indicate that there is a great need for South African Science and Mathematics teachers to attend professional development activities since there are many teachers who lack ICT-related skills (55%) and pedagogical skills related to the integration of ICT in instruction and learning (62%). The teachers who experience a lack of ICT-related skills and pedagogical skills are willing to be trained (88% and 93% respectively). These results imply that the challenge now rests with the government of South Africa to make sure that professional development activities that are both relevant and subject-specific are offered on a regular basis. The Government needs to devise strategies to promote professional development for the improvement of ICT integration into South African classrooms.