Managing Teachers’ Barriers to ICT Integration in Singapore Schools

Abstract

This article examines the strategies employed by four Singapore schools (two primary and two junior colleges) to manage barriers to information and communication technologies (ICT) integration. Based on the observations of ICT-mediated lessons and face-to-face interviews with teachers, ICT heads-of-department and school principals, six strategies are identified and discussed: (a) appointment of technical support staff, (b) appointment and training of student ICT helpers, (c) sufficient time for teachers to prepare for ICT-mediated lessons, (d) collaboration among teachers in preparing ICT-mediated lessons, (e) support provided by school leaders in addressing teachers’ ICT concerns, and (f) training, demonstrations or advice for teachers on how to incorporate ICT into classroom instruction. A further four recommendations are made by the authors to support these strategies.