Using Actor Network Theory to Understand ICT Integration in Secondary Schools

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand the effective implementation and use of technology in secondary schools in Mozambique, a developing country. Actor network theory (ANT) was used as a lens to understand technology integration in the education system as a package, in which the mutual dependence between the social and technical is highlighted. Maputo province in Mozambique was chosen as the site for this research. Both qualitative and quantitative data approaches were employed. The findings revealed that technology implementation in secondary schools is a dynamic process which is impacted either positively or negatively by the surrounding contextual situation. The study emphasizes that the role of non-human actors such as the ICT curriculum guide, the time-table and the schools' basic infrastructure, and its relationship with human actors, such as the heads of schools, teachers, and students, is gradually shaped by technology and its related network entities.