Theme 3: Reading One

Ham, V., Williamson-Leadley, S. & Toubat, H. (2006). National trends in teacher participation in ICTPD cluster programmes, 1999-2006: Results from the baseline surveys. Interim report to the Ministry of Education.

In general, the entry skills in ICT of teachers joining the ICTPD programmes have varied significantly according to particular ICTs. Generally teachers’ entry point skill levels have been low, but have steadily increased from cohort to cohort, especially with regard to the use of the internet and word processing. By 2006 the great majority of teachers entered the ICTPD programme with at least moderate skills in word processing and the Internet, but rather lower skill levels in other ICTs. The general increase in skill levels across cohorts would indicate that there has been a moderate ‘ICT upskilling effect’ occurring in the general teaching population, independent of the ICTPD cluster programmes.

Entry levels of ICT usage for lesson planning and preparation have also increased over time, with the Internet and lowered processing again featuring much more highly in 2006 than 1999. In 2006 more than half (52%) of the cohort had used ICTs ‘often’ or ‘always’ for general school administration, before the PD programme. This again would indicate a general increase in usage for these two purposes nationwide that is occurring independent of the cluster programmes.