A Study On Hifikepunye Pohamba Unam Campus Primary Student Teachers’ Information And Communication Technology Use And Integration Practices During School Based Studies

ABSTRACT 

The use and integration of ICTs in the classroom practice of pre-service student is very important for student teachers to become more proficient in integrating technology in their teaching. The main purpose of this study was to investigate primary student teachers’ field experience of information and communication technology use and integration during school-based studies. The exploratory sequential mixed methods design targeted pre-service student teachers that were majoring in the lower and upper primary phases at Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus and had registered for School-Based Studies in the Oshana Educational Region. The number of students targeted for this study was about 135 male and female 3rd year student teachers at Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus. A proportional stratified sampling method was used in order for all specific subject specialisation groups to be represented equally. The focus was aimed at investigating and identifying the gaps in the skills and competencies that student teachers may incorporate the use and integration of ICTs into their pedagogical practices. The findings revealed that student teachers mostly used 2- and 3- dimensional ICT materials during school based studies because they were commonly available and easy to prepare. The study also revealed that student teachers lacked understanding of the difference between (1) ICT use and (2) ICT integration in the classroom. Using the TPACK framework and information collected through various instruments, the study showed that the student teachers were more Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) oriented and had lesser abilities in the other components of the framework. Furthermore, the findings also revealed the challenges student teachers faced during school based studies, such as lack of accessibility of available ICT tools, lack of self-confidence when using ICT tools, iii time constraints when preparing for ICT-oriented lessons, and the school culture that used no ICTs in lessons. The researcher recommends that student teachers get the necessary support, exposure and practical training to gain the confidence and competence to use and integrate ICTs in teaching. The researcher also recommends that stringent assessment be done to determine how best to produce quality work in using the identified commonly used ICTs, such as posters, flip charts, models and transparencies during teaching. Finally, the researcher recommends that teaching pedagogies be expanded to accommodate the use of ICTs to allow student teachers to make their lessons more exploratory for learners and not just basically covering the subject content. Therefore, mentor teachers and university tutors should encourage and regularly control the use of relevant ICTs for lessons and encourage student teachers to prepare in advance for such lessons.