A participatory approach to the ormulation of an information and communication technology policy : a Q-methodology Case Study

Abstract

This study focuses on policy makers and the intricacies and subtleties surrounding the relationship between policy formulation and policy implementation. However in this process, an important stakeholder in the teaching-learning situation has been overlooked – the teacher. It would seem as if policy makers assumed that by placing computers in school, all would bode well and the implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) would unfold naturally. Present educational practice has culminated in a mismatch between what is desired by school administrators, as policy makers and what is needed by teachers as policy implementers. As such, many institutions should promote a consensus approach as a means of producing policy that is representative of the principal policy implementers. This paper focuses on an innovative approach to the formulation of an ICT policy for a school, using Q-methodology case study. The purpose of this project was to access teachers’ perceptions, beliefs and attitudes on issues they consider as pertinent in the formulation of an ICT policy. The findings of this study indicate that although unique ‘groups’ of teachers were identified, a consensus approach could now be established to negotiate the formulation of an ICT policy that will be inclusive of all teachers irrespective of their preconceived mindsets.