Primary School Teachers’ Readiness to Integrate Information and Communication Technology into their Teaching and Learning

Approved by WCED This study aimed to explore the extent to which ICT training has developed skills, prepared and enabled primary school teachers to use ICTs to sustain curriculum delivery and to understand the benefits and challenges that primary school teachers experience when using ICT for curriculum delivery. Qualitative data through semi-structured interviews with four teachers were conducted to gain a deep understanding of influencing factors, skills, benefits and challenges the educators faced in making this new technological shift. The data analysis showed that subject-specific training is needed and can be a vital factor in enhancing instructors' proficiency in using technology to its maximum capacity. Providing teachers with comprehensive technical training is crucial to ensure they possess the requisite abilities. Findings show that the mindset of educators regarding the utilisation of ICTs encompasses a readiness to acquire knowledge, enhancing the teaching and learning process. Other important elements are the availability of diverse resources and the ability of ICT to facilitate continuous interaction among learners. The researcher concluded that technical support and training provided by ICT play a crucial role in this regard. The barriers to the use of ICT in education include teachers' insufficient knowledge and practice, the adverse effects of national load shedding, limited availability of resources, incidents of classroom and device vandalism, inadequate provision of subject specific training and learner devices, and the absence of teacher-control functionality on learner tablets.