Teacher training for ICT in education
The UNESCO-UIS Guide to Measuring Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education currently (2009) explores the conceptual domain of teacher professional training and staff development with these three main indicators:
ED8 Proportion of ICT-qualified teachers in primary and secondary schools
(ISCED levels 1-3) 1Total number of teachers trained to teach basic computer skills (or computing) in primary and econdary schools based on national standards, expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers at these levels of education;
ED35 Proportion of primary and secondary-school teachers trained via ICTenabled distance education programmes (ISCED levels 1-3): Total number of primary and secondary school teachers who were trained via ICT-enabled distance education programmes, expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers;
ED38 Proportion of primary and secondary-school teachers trained to teach
subject(s) using ICT facilities (ISCED levels 1-3) Total number of teachers trained to use ICT to teach subject(s) in primary and secondary schools, expressed as a percentage of all teachers for ISCED levels 1-3 (UNESCO-UIS, 2009).
These three indicators do not however capture the full scope of teacher training in relation to ICT in education. The following section will explore additional indicators that can shed light on teacher training for ICT in education.
3.1 Expanding basic concepts and dimensions of teacher training related to ICT Definitions of training In some developing countries, ICT training for teachers is based on developing computer literacy, which is an important component for integrating ICT in education; however it is noteworthy that effective training should not stop at computer literacy but should model effective teaching practices (Infodev, 2015). Nevertheless, there are many other countries that provide little or negligible teacher training related to ICT in education. For example evidence from Europe shows that 70% and 65% of students in Lithuania and Romania, respectively, are taught by teachers for whom it is compulsory to participate in ICT training, compared to just 13% or fewer of students in Luxembourg, Austria and Italy (European Commission, 2013).
ED8 measures the proportion of teachers that are “ICT-qualified”; in other words it measures those teachers trained and thus best equipped to teach courses specifically on basic computer skills in primary or basic education and/ or computing in secondary education. In contrast UIS indicator ED38 measures the proportion of primary and secondary-school teachers trained to teach other subject(s) using ICT facilities (for ISCED levels 1-3). For both indicators, “trained” refers to national standards. In several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO-UIS, 2012), some Arab States (UNESCO-UIS, 2013), and some countries in Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO-UIS, 2014) varying proportions of teachers have received each type of training. Typically lower proportions of teachers have been trained to teach basic computer skills or computing (i.e. 10% or fewer), while the proportions of teachers trained to teach subjects using ICT varies more widely ranging from few in low income countries to the majority in some developed countries (Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, 2014b).
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In Asia and the Pacific it is suggested that countries such as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Malaysia and Singapore, where ICT is well integrated into curricula and nearly universally available across schools, all teachers are trained to teach using ICT in their classroom. Moreover, other data suggest that all teachers in these three countries are using ICT in their teaching. In contrast data suggest that few teachers are trained in countries where ICT is scarce including Philippines, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan (UNESCO-UIS, 2014). Teacher training related to ICT in education is thus also related to existing infrastructure, as also highlighted by Twining et al. (2015). In other words, one anticipates a directly proportional relationship between ICT infrastructure and teacher training whereby as there is more and new infrastructure, training should increase. While training initiatives on ICT are far from covering all teachers in Africa, InfoDev reported that as far back as 2007 an estimated 61 different ICT-related teacher training and professional development programmes, projects, and courses were under way in Africa (Farrell and Isaacs, 2017).
Understanding the complex evolving nature of ICT in general, additional clarity regarding the concepts “ICT-qualified” and “trained to teach subjects using ICT facilities” is needed. Consistent with this need for further reflection, Twining and Henry (2014) in an article entitled “Enhancing ICT Teaching in English Schools: Vital Lessons” argue that the term ICT has changed its focus over time and refers to several specific aspects of the use of technology within schools, encompassing the specialist subjects, the use of technology to support learning across the curriculum, as well as digital technology itself.
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Acknowledging the many dimensions to being “ICT-qualified” and “trained to use ICT to support teaching other subjects”, the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for teachers provides a helpful guide to codify ICT competencies and therefore can inform the development of new indicators to measure teacher training and preparedness. The UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers outlines the competencies that teachers need to integrate ICT into their professional practice. It emphasizes the role that ICT can play in supporting six major education focus areas across three growth phases of knowledge acquisition (UNESCO, 2011).
Currently some international teacher training programmes are based on this framework, such as Partners in Learning from Microsoft or INTEL Teach to name only a few (UNESCO, 2011b).
Table 1. UNESCO ICT competency framework for teachers
Area of educational focus ‘Modules’ - Phases of knowledge acquisition. Technology literacy Knowledge deepening Knowledge creation. Understanding ICT in education Policy Awareness Policy understanding Policy Innovation
Curriculum and assessment Basic Knowledge Knowledge Application Knowledge Society Skills Pedagogy Integrate technology Complex problem solving Self management ICT Basic tools Complex tools Pervasive tools Organization and
administration Standard classroom Collaborative groups Learning
Organizations Teacher professional learning Digital Literacy Manage and guide Teacher as model learner Content of training
Indicators 8 and 38 indicate proportions of trained teachers; however they do not shed light on the content of teacher training and how it is delivered.
Lecture 2.
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