The Interaction between Primary Teachers' Perceptions of ICT and Their Pedagogy

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.