Teachers’ Perceptions of Pedagogical Change with Information Communication Technologies in No-fee Primary Schools in a Developing Context: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Analysis

Abstract

Research indicates that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) impact positively on students’ attainment in primary school mathematics classrooms, depending on the nature of the pedagogy used (Higgins, Xiao, & Katsipataki, 2012). However, how ICTs are used pedagogically depends on how teachers perceive them (Bray & Tangney, 2017). Over the past decade, South Africa has invested heavily in ICTs in education, in the hopes that their use may impact positively on extremely low outcomes that are recorded in mathematics and reading in the country (Spaull, 2013). This investment, however, has not paid dividends, calling into question exactly how ICTs are used in teaching/learning in this context. This paper seeks to address teachers’ perceptions of teaching with ICTs in order to ascertain whether teachers do indeed use ICTs in their classrooms and whether they believe this changes their pedagogy thereby impacting positively on outcomes in mathematics at a grade 6 level. Interviews with 6 teachers across 4 non-fee-paying schools, using Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a frame, indicated that teachers do indeed believe that their pedagogy has shifted with the use of ICTs and that this has had a positive impact on mathematics learning.