Abstract
The paper presents a study which focuses on the interaction between primary teachers' perceptions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their pedagogy. Their perceptions of ICT are explored in terms of their reported understandings of the nature and purpose of ICT in primary schools. A qualitative, case study approach was used to investigate the perceptions and pedagogy of a small group of teachers working within one school, Carberry Junior School in England. The study was carried out during an eighteen month period of significant change in primary schools responding to the UK Government's National Grid for Learning initiative and its impact on models of access to ICT resources and expectations in teaching and pupil achievement. The paper highlights the teachers' perceptions of ICT as a social and cultural phenomenon, as an ambiguous area constructed as a discrete subject, curriculum resource and higher-order capability, and as a 'new' field in primary schools.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, R. (1996) In search of good primary practice. In Contemporary Issues in Teaching and Learning, P. Woods (Ed.). Routledge, London and New York.
Apple, M. (1996) Cultural Politics and Education. Open University Press, Buckingham.
Askew, M., Brown, M., Rhodes, V., Johnson, D., and Wiliam, D. (1997) Effective teachers of numeracy: Final report. Report of a study carried out for the Teacher Training Agency 1995–1996 by the School of Education, King's College, London.
Banks, F., Leach, J., and Moon, B. (1999) New understandings of teachers' pedagogic knowledge. In Learners and Pedagogy, J. Leach and B. Moon (Eds.). Paul Chapman Publishing in association with The Open University Press, London.
BECTA. (1998) Multimedia Portables for Teachers Pilot: Project Report. BECTA, Coventry.
Benzie, D. H. (2000) A longitudinal study of the development of information technology capability by students in an institute of higher education. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy, University of Exeter, Exeter.
Carvin, A. (2000) Getting Beyond Access: Redefining the Digital Divide Debate. Benton Foundation. Available: http://www.benton.org/Divide/thirdact/speech.html (June 2000). Cuban, L. (1986) Teachers and Machines: The Classroom Use of Technology Since 1920. Teachers' College Press, New York.
Dawes, L. (1999) First connections: Teachers and the National Grid for Learning. Computers and Education, 33(4), 235–252.
Department for Education. (1995) Information Technology in the National Curriculum. HMSO, London.
Department for Education and Employment. (1999a) The National Curriculum for England: Information and Communication Technology. DfEE, London.
Department for Education and Employment. (1999b) The National Curriculum. Handbook for Primary Teachers in England. Key Stages 1 and 2. DfEE, London.
Downes, T. (1998) Children's use of computers in their homes. Unpublished Ph.D., University ofWestern Sydney, Sydney.
Drenoyianni, H. and Selwood, I. D. (1998) Conceptions or misconceptions? Primary teachers' perceptions and use of computers in the classroom. Education and Information Technologies, 3, 87–99. Erickson, F. (1986) Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In Handbook of Research on Teaching (3rd edition), M. C. Wittrock (Ed.). Macmillan, Old Tappan, NJ.
Facer, K. and Furlong, R. (2000) Beyond the myth of the 'cyberkid': Young people at the margins of the information revolution. Paper presented at the Virtual Society? Get Real!, 4/5th May 2000, Ashridge House, Hertfordshire, UK.
Forester, T. and Morrison, P. (1990) Computer Ethics: Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing. Blackwell, Oxford.
Gill, K. S. (Ed.). (1996) Information Society: New Media, Ethics and Postmodernism. Springer, Berlin.
Gobbo, C. and Girardi, M. (2001) Teachers' beliefs and integration of information and communications technology in Italian schools. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 10(1/2), 63–86.
Grint, K. and Woolgar, S. (1997) TheMachine atWork: Technology, Work and Organisation. Cambridge, London.
Hawkridge, D. (1990) Who needs computers in schools and why? Computers in Education, 15(1–3), 1–6.
Hillocks, G. (1999) Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching. Teachers College Press, New York and London.
Hudson, B., Buchberger, F., Kansanen, P., and Seel, H. (1999) Didaktik/Fachdidaktik as science(-s) of the profession? TNTEE Publications, 2(1).
Loveless, A. M. (2001) The interaction between primary teachers' perceptions of information and communication technology (ICT) and pedagogy. Ph.D. thesis, University of Brighton, Brighton.
Loveless, A. M. and Longman, D. (1998) Information literacy: Innuendo or insight? Education and Information Technologies, 13(1), 27–40.
Loveless, A. M., Williams, C. M., and Kutnick, P. J. (2000) Evaluating teachers' use of portable computers in administration and the curriculum. Available: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol (2000).
Matthews, B. (1992) The social issues in information technology. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 1(2), 201–213.
McCormick, R. and Scrimshaw, P. (2001) Information and communications technology, knowledge and pedagogy. Education, Communication and Information, 1(1), 37–57.
Menck, P. (1995) Didactics as construction of content. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 27(4), 353–363.
Mortimore, P. (Ed.). (1999) Understanding Pedagogy and Its Impact on Learning. Paul Chapman Publishing, London.
Moseley, D., Higgins, S., Bramald, R., Hardman, F., Miller, J., Mroz, M., Harrison, T., Newton, D., Thompson, I., Williamson, J., Halligan, J., Bramald, S., Newton, L., Tymms, P., Henderson, B., and Stout, J. (1999) Ways Forward with ICT: Effective Pedagogy Using Information and Communications Technology for Literacy and Numeracy in Primary Schools. University of Newcastle.
Phillips, R., Bailey, M., Fisher, T., and Harrison, C. (1999) Questioning teachers about their use of portable computers. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 15(2), 149–161.
Putnam, R. T. and Borko, H. (2000) What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15.
Robins, K. and Webster, F. (1999) Times of the Technoculture. Routledge, London.
Roszak, T. (1994) The Cult of Information: A Neo-Luddite Treatise on High Technology, Artificial Intelligence and the True Art of Thinking (2nd edition). University of California Press, Berkeley. Sanger, J., Willson, J., Davies, B., and Whitaker, R. (1997) Young Children, Videos and Computer Games: Issues for Parents and Teachers. Falmer, London.
Schenk, D. (1997) Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut. Abacus, London. Scrimshaw, P. (1997) Computers and the teachers' role. In Using Information Technology Effectively in Teaching and Learning, B. Somekh and N. Davis (Eds.). Routledge, London.
Sefton-Green, J. and Buckingham, D. (1998) Digital visions: Children's 'creative' uses of multimedia technologies. In Digital Diversions, J. Sefton-Green (Ed.). UCL Press, London.
Selwyn, N. (1999a) Gilding the grid: The marketing of the National Grid for Learning. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(1), 55–68.
Selwyn, N. (1999b) Why the computer is not dominating schools: A failure of policy or a failure of practice? Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(1), 77–91.
Shulman, L. S. (1987) Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22.
Stevenson, D. (1997) Information and Communications Technology in UK Schools: An Independent Report. Independent ICT in Schools Commission.
Street, B. (1993) Cross-Cultural Approaches to Literacy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Underwood, J. D. M. and Underwood, G. (1990) Computers and Learning: Helping Children Acquire Thinking Skills. Blackwell, Oxford.
Watson, D. (1997) A dichotomy of purpose: The effect on teachers of government initiatives in information technology. In Information Technology: Supporting Change Through Teacher Education, D. Passey and B. Samways (Eds.). Chapman and Hall, London.
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Loveless, A.M. The Interaction between Primary Teachers' Perceptions of ICT and Their Pedagogy. Education and Information Technologies 8, 313–326 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EAIT.0000008674.76243.8f
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EAIT.0000008674.76243.8f