Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore challenges faced by teachers in integrating
Information and Communication Technology in the teaching of reading and writing in
two rural and four urban primary schools in Namibia. Twenty six English teachers
teaching from grades 1 to grade 7 participated in the study. The main aim of the study
was to investigate challenges faced by teachers when integrating ICT into their
lessons. Lessons were observed and notes were taken. In addition, semi-structured
interviews with teachers were conducted. For data analysis, all field notes were first
reviewed, and memos and comments on these notes were written. Secondly, responses
were grouped into themes, and then referencing units of texts were sorted according to
coding and labelling. Findings of the study revealed that teachers in both rural and
urban Namibian schools in the sample faced common challenges. Some of the
challenges were attributed to lack of infrastructure, lack of appropriate skills and
competencies, lack of continuous support both at school level and at national level,
and lack of training. Even though most schools were beneficiaries of the deployment
of ICTs, teachers were still unable to utilise the resources made available to them.
However, teachers expressed their appreciation for the initiation of ICT integration as
it motivated them and their learners and made them part of the global village. The
study concluded that mere deployment of ICT facilities in Namibian schools did not
guarantee the effective use of these facilities in teaching and learning as long as the
challenges were not fully addressed. The study recommends that policy makers
should pay more attention to national education standards and carry out adequate and
appropriate research to ensure that teachers are aware of what is expected from them.
