Information and Communication Technology and Education: Meaningful Change Through Teacher Agency

Abstract

The quality of teachers is a very strong influence on the quality of ed-ucation. In an era when societies and technologies are changing rapidly, both the nature of the education that is appropriate and the means available for its delivery are also changing rapidly. Hence, if teachers are to contribute to the ongoing trans-formation of societies by transforming education through the use of technologies, they will need to engage in personal transformation through ongoing learning. The wide variety of contexts in which teachers work with differing resources, the vari-ability in their prior learning and in the needs of learners, the rapid changes in technologies, and the shifting expectations of society make it impossible for cen-tral authorities to prescribe educational experiences that will be suitable for all cir-cumstances. Teachers must be empowered to practice their profession by orches-trating resources and activities to match educational provision to learners' needs. Recognizing the agency of teachers as professionals is essential to enlisting them as contributors to the ongoing transformation of education through application of ICT. This chapter addresses the essential role of teacher agency in the transfor-mation of teachers and the education systems in which they work. Transformative effects of ICT in society Evidence of the transformative effects of information and communication tech-nology (ICT) is widely visible in the changing ways that people around the world live and work. Over the past half-century, computers, laptops and tablets have changed common practices in most work environments and in many homes. Smartphones are practically ubiquitous in developed countries and increasingly prevalent everywhere, enabling almost continuous connection to people and