An Assessment of Teachers’ Abilities to Support Blended Learning Implementation in Tanzanian Secondary Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe instances of pedagogical practices of teachers using ICTs and the enhancements of practices using traditional methods, to more fundamental changes in their approach to teaching. Using a mixed method, the research examined the impact of increased education level on the ICT use competence perception and the influence of ICT knowledge level and skills on the adoption of blended learning contents. Four schools were used for this study; two picked out of 50 that are enhanced with ICT infrastructures while the other two were picked from schools without enough ICT infrastructures. Three research questions guided the study. Data collection included teachers, schools inspection officers, curriculum development experts, teacher trainees and policy makers’ interviews, questionnaires, classroom observations, and document reviews. Data analysis concentrated on the central questions of the study. The results suggested that teachers’ education level couldn’t determine their ICT knowledge level. Either, the ICT knowledge level has influences on the decision to use blended learning. Barriers to ICT use in education were revealed as: internal -more of personal attitudes and perceptions about a technology, and external -lack of availability and accessibility to the relevant resources (hardware and software), lack of framework that address integration of ICTs in teaching and learning and unreliable Internet connection. Resulting from the results, this study suggests a goal oriented teacher training framework which should address a complex integration of technology, content, pedagogy, school infrastructures, and the overall objectives of the education systems as trivial of ICT use determining factors.

Keywords

• Blended learning, Teachers’ ICT knowledge, Teachers’ ICT use, Teachers’ ICT competence, ICT in education

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