Pre-Service Teachers’ Competence to Teach Science through ICTs

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Abstract

The study explored pre-service science teachers’ perceived competencies for integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their teaching during the field experience of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL). Two national tertiary institutions were purposively selected, and sixty-four final year pre-service science teachers completed questionnaires based on the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) model. Data were analyzed quantitatively with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The respondents’ mean scores in all seven TPACK domains were above the average of three. This implies that pre-service science teachers in Lesotho are competent in using ICTs to teach during WIL experience. However, the non-technological domains of TPACK received higher mean scores than the technological domains. It is recommended that more support mechanisms be put in place to maximize pre-service teachers’ competencies in the technological domains. This article presents successful examples of ICT application during WIL by pre-service teachers and draws lessons for what needs to be done to promote the use of ICTs for teaching, especially in the context of a developing country.