Abstract
The aim of this research study was to explore the role of the School Management Team
(SMT), specifically Departmental Heads, in the professional development of post-level one
teachers on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance
classroom pedagogy.
A discussion of the South African context and the country's ICT implementation strategies
was included in the literature review for this study, accentuating a discussion around the
rollout, adoption, and integration of ICT in South African secondary schools. The rationale
behind the rollout of ICT initiatives on many platforms’ points to the fact that South African
leaders aim to create global citizens who can exit South African schools and acclimatise to a
vast array of environments with ease, having acquired the necessary skills during their
schooling career.
Covid-19's effects on South African education were also given attention in the literature
review, highlighting the inequality gaps in South African education, where full ICT schools
and private schools were at an advantage, compared to schools where a phased-in approach
to ICT implementation ensued.
The literature advocates for continuous courses addressing educators’ technical, contentbased,
and pedagogical knowledge to be imperative for teacher professional development
training, so that an effective pedagogy for teaching using ICT can be achieved. During the
interrogation of the data, it became clear that the perspectives and pedagogical viewpoints
of SMTs and PL1 teachers on the adoption and integration of ICTs in the classroom, along
with the function of school principals, were vital in the successful implementation of ICT.
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Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of using ICT in education were reviewed. The
overarching research question that directed this empirical study was, “How does the school
management team (specifically Departmental Heads) use their instructional leadership roles
to develop teachers on the use of ICT to enhance classroom pedagogy?” This inquiry is
supported by the following sub-questions: “How are SMTs (specifically Departmental Heads)
trained on the use of ICT and its implementation from an instructional leadership
perspective?”; “What support do teachers receive from the SMT to effectively use ICT to
enhance classroom pedagogy?”; “How do teachers integrate ICT into their teaching
pedagogy?” and lastly, “What challenges do teachers and the SMT face in mediating learning
with ICT?”.
For this study, a qualitative research methodology was chosen within the framework of
symbolic interactionism, which was adopted as the research paradigm to direct the research
study. This paradigm seeks to comprehend the interpretations that individuals assign to
things, occasions and actions. The focus of symbolic interactionists is on the nature of the
interaction. As a result, it is related to the theoretical framework adopted for this study,
namely, Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), since both approaches try to understand
the many interactions within diverse activity systems and propose that participant
engagement and interaction may result in system change. Hence, CHAT was used as a lens
to examine various social interactions in the course of the implementation of ICT.
Regarding the methodology of the study, I found it imperative to highlight that the ontological
and epistemological stance of this study, as well as the selected research paradigm, showed
a strong coherence with the study’s theoretical framework and is strongly aligned with the
social constructivism standpoint adopted by the researcher.
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From an epistemological standpoint, the social constructivist paradigm aligns well with the
study’s objectives. Social constructivism highlights reality as being socially constructed; by
contrast, a relativist position holds that there is no external reality independent of human
consciousness. In this study, teaching and learning using ICT, as well as teachers being
trained to effectively use ICT for teaching and learning, are viewed as a social construction
of knowledge. Ontology can be defined as the study of reality. Regarding the ontological view
of social constructivism, this study views knowledge as personal, experiential and subjective.
This is because teachers and their Departmental Heads were asked about their experiences
and perceptions of teaching and/or learning through ICT, as well as their experiences of being
trained in the use of ICT for classroom learning.
A multiple case study approach was utilised in this study to investigate and document the
complex moving and unfolding interconnections of events and human relationships.
Purposeful sampling occurred where specified research participants and research locations
were selected to gain insight into the core phenomenon being studied. Six public secondary
schools were chosen for this empirical study focusing on the "Classroom of the Future"
initiative, which was introduced in 2015, and these schools are in the Gauteng province of
South Africa. Departmental Heads and post-level one educators were included in the sample.
Furthermore, considering that multiple research sites were used, I examined the variations
and parallels within and across cases.
Data was generated through individual semi-structured interviews conducted with the
eighteen, purposively selected participants. The focus was on a thorough examination of the
cases in their actual contexts, and the choice of a qualitative research approach was therefore
a good fit with the case study research design.
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To examine enormous amounts of data, I employed thematic content analysis as the
analytical tool, whereby the transcribed text underwent scrutiny for coding, categorising, and
comparison. The literature review was used as an initial base, together with the research
questions, the interview questions, and the theoretical inferences, resulting in the emergence
of nine themes, namely:
• Teacher professional development, training, and support.
• Teaching and learning in ICT classrooms.
• The role school principals in effective ICT integration.
• Technologically adept versus technologically inexperienced.
• The impact of Covid-19 on South African schools.
• Inequity in the rollout of ICTs in a phasing-in approach.
• Rate of responsiveness from GDE (Gauteng Department of Education).
• Benefits of ICT implementation.
• Challenges of ICT implementation.
The findings of the study revealed that Departmental Heads need to improve the quality of
assistance and training provided to their respective post-level one teachers. They should not
delegate the support and training of their teachers to the Gauteng Department of Education
(GDE) teacher training projects. This study unearthed that Departmental Heads might seek
to transfer the responsibility of teacher training to GDE; however, the subpar service of GDE
officials in assisting teachers with device installation, training, and maintenance, highlight
what some have called the GDE's "empty promises" in terms of capacitating teachers on
integrating ICT efficiently in their classrooms.
The study aligns to the South African Council of Education (SACE) requirement that teacher
development focuses on three stakeholders, namely, teachers, SMTs and the Department of
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Education (DoE) to improve educational outcomes using ICT. According to this study,
professional development should not just be technical; it should also be subject-specific.
When teacher training initiatives are of poor quality, the former occurs. Hence, GDE must
provide department heads and teachers with accredited training that is relevant and
continuous.
The study also underscored the importance of a leader's attitude, with the data providing an
intriguing viewpoint on the "age" of participants. There appeared to be an inverse relationship
between a teachers' age and their enthusiasm for utilising technology, thereby highlighting
the generational gap. Such factors degenerated in the context of using technology for learning
purposes and the Covid-19 pandemic clearly proved that full ICT schools have an advantage
over ICT schools that had to adopt a phasing-in strategy. The study also identified a variety
of advantages as well as difficulties associated with ICT integration in schools.
The recommendations emanating from this study are crucial if the country is to advance
towards an equitable education regarding ICT inclusion for all children in South Africa
regardless of their socio-economic status and geographic location. These recommendations
include the following: New opportunities for all personnel involved in ICT teacher professional
development training initiatives in South Africa; The Gauteng Department of Education should
adopt an improved accredited ICT training and development programme (i.e. going beyond
merely technical training, to become subject area specific, relevant and continuous); Preloaded
resources on the learning platform should include and benefit all subjects, not only
mathematics and science as is the case currently; Senior school leadership (principals)
should adopt a change in their mindset toward ICT; and the current model of phasing-in ICT
implementation should be adapted for greater success across all schools.
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This study will contribute to the knowledge base of ICT implementation and
recommendations will be made to policymakers and the DBE to improve ICT capacitation
in schools to improve the teaching and learning process. Additionally, findings will be
shared with the schools in Gauteng where the ICTs were rolled out and this may be used
within the school to improve the professional development of teachers pertaining to ICT
capacitation and pedagogy in the classroom. Furthermore, this research study resulted in
the researcher designing a model that informs instructional leadership practices regarding
the creation of cohesive ICT cultures in schools and improving future ICT capacitation
initiatives for better educational outcomes in South African classrooms.
KEYWORDS
School Management Team (SMT); Information Communication Technology (ICT);
Departmental Heads (DP); cohesive ICT culture; post level one educator (PL1); Classroom
of The Future Initiative.