New South Wales Primary School Teachers' Perceptions of the Role of ICT in the Primary Science Curriculum - A Rural and Regional Perspective

Abstract

A series of interviews was conducted with NSW primary teachers, working within a rural context, to obtain their views about the benefits of using ICT in the delivery of the primary curriculum and specifically primary science. The interviews were also used to determine how these teachers were using ICT and if they had any specific training needs. Some teachers were using ICT creatively in their teaching in science and other curriculum areas. However, despite considerable political pressure to increase ICT use in the classroom, most expressed frustration at the lack of in-service training available to them. Given the costs involved in in-service training in regional New South Wales, with groups of teachers scattered over large distances, this finding is perhaps not surprising. This article proposes a possible cost-effective strategy for in-service training to help overcome some of the problems raised by the participants in this study. The suggested strategy involves the use of action research to develop confidence and self reliance amongst primary teachers in a region where government funded training is always likely to be limited due to its prohibitive cost.