TPACK Constructs: A Sustainable Pathway for Teachers Professional Development on Technology Adoption

Abstract

As numerous Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) penetrate various facets of life, teachers are underutilising it in the teaching and learning process. With the introduction of ICTs in the Cameroon primary school curriculum, teachers have been receiving training on computer skill-base courses and yet many are unable to adopt the tool in instructional processes. To ensure that teacher training programmes effectively assist them in integrating technology in instructional processes, a study was initiated to determine additional set of skills that they need to adopt the tool in their classrooms. This study employed a quantitative survey methodology in the collection of data towards the determination of additional skills needed by primary school teachers. A total of 400 teachers were selected using the stratified random sampling technique from primary schools across all the 10 Regions of Cameroon. The data were analysed using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the survey indicated that teacher-participants reported a better mastery of content knowledge (CK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and technological content knowledge (TCK). On the other hand, they reported weaknesses in three other constructs notably: technology knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The researcher concluded that teacher-participants performed better in the CK, PK and PCK because these constructs constitute the basis for teacher education in Cameroon. Similarly, they performed well in the TCK construct because their professional development programme is focused on fostering their computer knowledge as a standalone skill. Their poor performance in the TK, TPK and TPACK stems from the fact that the training programmes do not lay emphasis on these constructs. To provide a sustainable teacher professional development programme on technology adoption, it was therefore recommended that stakeholders involved in the sector design training packages that focus on the TPACK constructs. This will foster teachers’ adoption of the tool for instructional purposes.