A Study on the Issues in School Information Communication Technology (ICT) Teacher INSET Programs in Sri Lanka

Abstract

ABSTRACT - A Study on the Issues in School Information Communication Technology (ICT) Teacher INSET Programs in Sri Lanka- M.Amilajith Nisanka Leelarathne. Dept, of Educational Technology Graduate School Hanyang University Despite the critical importance of in-service Training (INSET) programs for teachers’ on-going professional development, educators often report problems concerning many INSET programs. However, due to lack of systematic evaluation studies of INSET programs in especially Information Communication Technology (ICT) field, specific problems in these courses cannot be diagnosed, and they are left unresolved. The present study, therefore, evaluates INSET programs offered by the Sri Lanka National Institute of Education (NIE) and Sri Lanka Ministry of Education to explore its sustained impact on ICT teachers’ attitudes, knowledge-base, and classroom practices. The program is first evaluated against the criteria for effective INSET programs suggested by previous literature. Then, data are gathered through course materials analysis, government documents, annual reports, various books and journals, articles on using ICT for teacher training, School teacher training in Sri Lanka, South Korea and other countries and through an open-end questionnaire distributed to 30 teachers after the course ended. The open-end questionnaire findings indicate that although the male and female teachers’ attitudes are positive towards the course in general, the program has limitations especially in terms of its planning and execution phases, and its impact on teachers’ practices. Implications for future INSET programs will be provided suggestions based on the findings. Keywords: Teachers, INSETs, ICT