Tensions between technology integration practices of teachers and ICT in education policy expectations: implications for change in teacher knowledge, beliefs and teaching practices

Abstract

In line with ICT in education policies and curricula in Ghana and many other countries, teachers are expected to integrate digital technologies into instruction to facilitate meaningful and engaging student learning experiences. More research is however needed to investigate teachers’ actual classroom practices with technology to determine whether these align with national ICT in education policies and curricula expectations. This qualitative study conducted phone interviews with twenty teachers from twelve schools and used a synthesised ICT pedagogy classification framework as a lens to investigate teachers’ technology integration practices in relation to Ghana's ICT policies and curricula requirements. Following a thematic analysis procedure, the article finds that teachers mainly use technology conveniently for lesson preparation and direct instruction delivery, treating technology primarily as a productivity tool to support traditional teacher-centred teaching tasks. The use of technology for constructivist practices and fostering student-centred learning appears to be limited, which contradicts the priorities outlined in ICT in education policies and curricula in Ghana. The findings highlight a discrepancy between the requirements of ICT policies and the actual classroom practices of teachers. The implications of the findings are discussed, emphasising the need to action change in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and teaching practices in order to bridge the gap and effectively translate ICT curricula and policy plans into actual teaching practices.