Key issues in implementing the B.Ed ICT curriculum 89 

This section discusses some key issues raised by the educators in response to the third complementary research question: What do educators perceive as key issues in implementing the ICT curriculum in B.Ed. program in Bangladesh?

The educators had raised a variety of issues regarding the implementation of the B.Ed. ICT curriculum, and these are described in following sections.

The ICT curriculum is highly prescriptive

One of the key factors is that the B.Ed. ICT curriculum is highly prescriptive. It defines objectives, competencies, concepts of ICT to be taught, and methods of teaching-learning in the B.Ed. classrooms. The educators have little flexibility to identify and include ICT concepts different from the curriculum to teach the trainees, because at the end of the year the trainees are assessed according to the curriculum’s prescribed guidelines. However, if the educators do identify some different ICT concepts which might be useful for the trainees they have some freedom to include these in their teaching programmes. The educators suggest designing the ICT curriculum in a way that can give them some flexibility to decide what ICT concepts are included and how they might be taught to the trainees. McDougall (2008) notes that in different countries, including the USA, the teacher education curriculum defines some generic competencies and educators decide what and how to teach these competencies to the trainees.

As the data indicates the educators of Bangladesh often have a broader understanding of teaching about and with ICT than what is prescribed in the curriculum. It is therefore possible that the B.Ed. curriculum could include some general competencies and allow teacher educators some flexibility to decide the content and methods of teaching ICT. 

The curriculum is mostly teaching about ICT

Although one objective of the B.Ed. curriculum is to prepare the trainees to use ICT in teaching-learning activities, the curriculum focuses mostly on teaching them ICT skills isolated from pedagogical application. The educators think the curriculum should give emphasis to the pedagogical use of ICT. Teaching about ICT skills isolated from pedagogy is one reason teachers are less confident in using ICT in the

classrooms (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010, Somekh, 2008). Therefore, the structure of the B.Ed. ICT curriculum itself remains a key issue to the educators as it prioritises skills over pedagogy.

Not all of the educators are prepared for teaching with ICT

Another key issue found in the data is that many of the educators have little or no knowledge of ICT. This is an issue because the educators are expected to train the school teachers in how to use ICT in the school classrooms. If the educators do not know about ICT, they are unlikely to prepare school teachers for using ICT. This indicates that the educators should have a sound knowledge of technology along with pedagogical understanding of content knowledge for the successful implementation of ICT in education (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Therefore, it is crucial to recognize that teaching and learning with ICT itself is a specialist learning area in teacher education, and the teacher educators must be prepared well for teaching this knowledge to the trainee teachers.  

Lack of ICT resources and infrastructure

It is reported in the data that there is a lack of computers, multimedia facilities and internet connections in most of the teacher training institutions. Two or more trainee teachers share one computer in the classroom. The educators often cannot teach the trainees about email and online search skills due to insufficient or unreliable internet connections. Besides this, the computers often go out of order, and a lack of

computer maintenance budget is a reason the broken computers are not repaired for reuse. This view is supported by Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) who report that technical problems often contribute to a lack of confidence amongst teachers. Hew and Brush (2007) also demonstrated that lack of resources can be a barrier to teachers' technology use. Therefore, when building a supportive infrastructure, it is also important that schools be well equipped, not only with ICT resources, but with the pedagogical expertise to facilitate meaningful uses and maintenance.

English scripts embedded in computers is a barrier

Some educators also think that English script embedded in computer programs is a potential barrier to the teachers to use ICT in the classrooms, because English is a foreign language in Bangladesh. Although the educators understand English to some extent, they reported that it was often not comfortable to learn new knowledge in a foreign language. Ingec (2009) found that Turkish students also had problems learning concept maps in a foreign (English) language. Similarly, it can be argued that learning ICT in English language posits a dual challenge to the Bangladeshi teachers: firstly, learning about a new technology, and secondly, learning it in a foreign language. Therefore, the Bangladeshi educators’ perception of English language embedded in computer programs can be considered a key issue in implementing ICT in education.

Confidence in teaching about and with ICT

Confidence is one of the key factors that enable the educators teaching ICT courses. The participant educators of this study state that they were assigned the

responsibilities of teaching ICT courses as they have had previous experience of working with computers. Previous knowledge of computers is perceived as a factor that influences their confidence. The educators also study and practice computer technology regularly for preparing themselves to take ICT classes. Their self-study and practice increases their confidence. They also maintain communication with their professional community to discuss, share and learn ICT knowledge. The trainee teachers’ success in using ICT also encourages the educators to use technology as when they observe the trainees learning ICT skills, they feel more confident. Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) note that teachers’ confidence in relation to ICT is more important than their ICT knowledge and skills, therefore, prior experience of ICT, self-study, communicating with knowledgeable peers, and students’ success of using ICT are factors that need to be considered to prepare both school teachers and the educators for teaching about and with ICT.

Literature suggests different strategies for building confidence in using ICT. Playing with ICT (Somekh, 2008), starting with small successful experiences (Ottenbreit- Leftwich, 2007), working with knowledgeable peers (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & Youk, 2006), providing suitable environments and infrastructure (Ertmer, 2005), participating in a professional learning community (Putnam & Borko, 2000) are all suggestions for developing confidence and self-efficacy in ICT.