Teachers’ experiences of ICT training in Nepal: how teachers in rural primary schools learn and make progress in their ability to use ICT in classrooms

Abstract

This article reports on teachers' experiences of ICT training in rural areas of Nepal. It discusses aspects of policy documents to help understand the Nepali educational context, before highlighting the challenges of establishing and maintaining infrastructure and professional learning opportunities across a country with challenging terrain and extreme environmental conditions. It then examines teachers' perceptions in five rural primary schools about their experiences of training to use modern educational technologies in instructional activities. The findings indicate that none of the teachers received training in the use of ICT in their initial teacher education and that the Government has allowed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide ICT infrastructure and training for rural schools and teachers. Although this is a small study, it offers insights into the gap between policy and practice and highlights the contextual challenges of Nepal's attempts to operate on a global educational level and the challenges for teachers.

Lessons Learned from Teaching English through Facebook Live for Future

“…They regarded it as an alternative mode of learning English from home in the absence of physical classroom learning. Studies (Rice et al, 2020;Wu & Gao, 2020;Rana et al, 2021) have demonstrated that it is important for teachers to have technological, pedagogical and content knowledge to implement ICT tools in multicultural and heterogeneous classrooms. Holland (2019) stressed that the trend towards autonomous learning makes it important for teachers to incorporate the use of online learning tools as preparation for the 21 st -century world.…”

How students and teachers voyaged from physical classroom to Emergency Remote Teaching in COVID-19 crisis: A case of Nepal

“…It was evident from observations that teachers engaged students in the prescribed textbooks instead of following flipped learning strategies. Their replication of physical classroom pedagogies in online classes heavily depending on prescribed textbooks would have augmented what they used to do in the normal physical classroom ( Rana, 2018 ; Rana et al, 2018 ; Rana, 2022 ). It was evident from the participants’ comments that schools are unprepared to implement remote teaching.…”

“…It is essential to address ICT-related issues, such as the lack of ICT infrastructure in schools, teachers’ limited or no digital literacy and students’ lack of access to digital technology, to enhance the quality and efficiency of education in the context of Nepal ( Lim, 2007 ). Rana et al (2022) suggest developing a specific strategic plan, funding for ICT infrastructure and providing adequate ICT training for teachers to implement the education policy on ICT and transform traditional pedagogies to modern learning. Agyei’s (2020) study in African countries investigated that intensive ICT training enables teachers to effectively use ICT facilities and increases the sustainability of ICT practices in education.…”

“…However, most government schools have been completely shut down. Students and teachers’ lack of access to ICT and ICT skills ( Rana, 2018 ; Rana et al, 2022 ) seem to be barriers to implementing remote learning.…”

Eğitimde Bilgi İletişim Teknolojilerinin Kullanımı: Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin Görüşlerinin İncelenmesi (Bir Karma Yöntem Araştırması)

“…In this study, the effects of ICT use in education on students were examined from a multidimensional perspective. In the literature, there are many studies on the use of ICT in education (Adam & Metljak, 2022;Guillén-Gámez & Mayorga-Fernández, 2020;Rana, Greenwood & Henderson, 2022;Putri, et al, 2020;Spiteri & Chang Rundgren, 2020;Zubković, Pahljina-Reinić & Kolić-Vehovec, 2022). On the other hand, no study has been found that examines the effects of ICT use in education on primary school students with a mixed method design.…”