I can't fall behind! - aspirations  technology and becoming a teacher in South Africa

Bladergroen, Moira; Bytheway, Andy; Cantoni, Lorenzo; Chigona, Wallace; Pucciarelli, Marta; Sabiescu, Amalia

I can't fall behind! - aspirations technology and becoming a teacher in South Africa

Journal Article

2014

Journal Title

South African Computer Journal

Link to Journal

http://sacj.cs.uct.ac.za/

Publisher

South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Information Systems

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Abstract

This article contributes a theoretical perspective on aspirations and technology in ICT4D research. The paper examines the aspirations for professional development of undergraduate pre-service teachers in South Africa, and the extent to which these are marked by or influence the formation of technology attitudes. It is found that the relations between professional aspirations and attitudes towards technology are fairly complex, and of mutual determination: technology is seen as a capacity enabler, instrumental in helping pre-service teachers fulfil their professional aspirations, which in turn motivate them to understand and integrate technology in their future teaching. The implications of this argument for wider ICT4D scholarship are discussed.