Pedagogy and ICT use in South African Science Education

The purpose of this paper is to present work in progress as part of the analysis of the South African SITES 2006 data which forms the basis for an ongoing PhD study. The PhD study aims to examine how teachers in classrooms representing the majority of South African schools use ICT when they teach science and to explore factors which may be used as predictors of ICT use by science teachers in similar developing country contexts. The study is relevant and timeous in light of the South African government’s preparation to embark on its rollout of ICT in schools across the country in 2009, despite a strong ‘traditionally important’ pedagogical orientation of South African teachers in science education and little evidence to suggest South African teachers are ready to integrate ICT into teaching practice.