Associations between technical AFE teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, ICT-enhanced teaching and their conceptions of ICT use in the industry

Abstract

This paper builds upon the authors’ previous research on Technical and Further Education (TAFE) teachers’ conceptions of (first paper), and approaches to (second paper), ICT-enhanced teaching in professional education (third paper). This paper aims to examine relationships among the above three aspects, that is: between TAFE teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, ICT-enhanced teaching and their associated view about ICT use in the workplace. Phenomenography, a qualitative research approach that emphasizes the importance of people’s experience of a phenomenon, was selected as a research methodology for this study. A cohort of 23 teachers from three TAFE institutions in NSW, Australia, participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. This study found that teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, ICT-enhanced teaching, and conceptions of ICT in the workplace are linked. More specifically, TAFE teachers who hold a particular conception of ICT-enhanced teaching tended to adopt related approaches to ICT-enhanced teaching that are further linked with conceptions of ICT in the workplace. TAFE teachers who expressed ‘student-centred/activity-oriented and/or industry-oriented’ conceptions of ICT-enhanced teaching were more likely to adopt a ‘studentfocused’ approach to ICT-enhanced teaching. The teachers within this group were more likely to hold an understanding of the role of ICT in the workplace as an effective or essential tool in professional activities. This paper offers new insights that contribute to bridging the gap between ICT in teaching and ICT in workplace practice. These findings could help develop new initiatives to address the existing gap between teaching in TAFE institutes and current practices in the workplace.