Scholars believe that there are a number of barriers, which hinder the effective integration of computers in the classroom (Wang et al., 2014). Albugami and Ahmed (2015) referred to these barriers as negative factors. Brun and Hinostroza (2014) outlined two broad categories of negative factors, which may hinder the use of ICT into classrooms: institutional factors and personal factors. Institutional barriers include the lack of effective and on-going leadership training for school managers and teachers, insufficient digital learning resources, and insufficient pedagogical support. They also include the lack of institutional policies for ICT integration, insufficient ICT equipment, insufficient Internet connection speed, lack of institutional interest in ICT integration, lack of technical support, lack of integration of ICT into all levels of teacher education, and lack of community of practice for ICT practitioners (Brun & Hinostroza, 2014; LeBaron & McDonough, 2009). Personal barriers include lack of time to prepare ICT materials for lessons, lack of teachers’ pedagogical ICT- related competencies, lack of teachers’ confidence to try new approaches, lack of teachers’ competencies to identify useful ICT tools, lack of teachers’ flexibility to integrate ICT, lack of students’ ICT-related competencies (Brun & Hinostroza, 2014).
In addition, other researchers have also outlined barriers, which may affect the use of ICT including the lack of electric power, and exam-driven education system. These barriers also comprise the lack of knowledgeable of educational technology among teachers, who cannot train student teachers adequately, and lack of interest in and willingness toward the pedagogical use of technology (Afshari et al., 2009; Bennison & Goos, 2010; Drent & Meelissen, 2008; Hamdane, Khaldi & Bouzinab, 2013; Hismanoglu, 2012; Judge & O’bannon, 2008). Most researchers have suggested that barriers whether institutional or personal may become obstacles to the integration of ICT in education. However, the literature reveals that most of the institutional barriers can hinder teachers from integrating ICT in teaching and learning process (Pedró, & Ananiadou, 2009). Therefore, this literature dwells extensively on some of the institutional barriers and only partly personal barriers such as lack of practical support, lack of ICT policy, lack of ICT training, lack of computer resources and lack of time, to examine if they could hinder the use of ICT in the college mathematics classroom.
Teachers are not provided with technical support in the use of different soft wares (e.g. Google Sketchup, IWBs, dynamic geometry, spreadsheet and others), whereas this support could ease the burden on teachers in the use of technology (Joubert, 2013). The lack of support may be considered as the major challenge hindering the integration of ICT in the classroom. Thus, teachers who do not know how to use different software may not intentionally use ICT during classroom instruction. Furthermore, the eventual lack of technical support in the event of technical faults might trigger reluctance in the teacher to use ICT in classroom instruction. Chigona and Chigona (2010) noted that teachers who were given computer laboratories and computers for mathematics classroom instruction could not use them due to fear of technical faults and the length of time taken by technician to fix the problems.
ICT policy is another barrier that may impede the implementation of ICT in the classroom (Wang et al., 2014). The presence of ICT policy may stimulate teachers to use ICT as it provides guidance on how and when to use ICT in the classroom. A study carried out by Tondeur et al. (2008) found that ICT implementation was successful when a school had developed and provided an ICT policy and when its teachers shared the values expressed in this policy and understood the associated
implications. In spite of the provision of an ICT policy, in practice most teachers may only rarely or never use ICT for classroom instruction.
Most studies indicate that lack of training is the most frequently encountered barrier to successful the ICT implementation in the educational contexts. As a result, there is need to train education managers and teachers on computer skills such as basic skills, application software skills, programming skills, and computer awareness (Buabeng-Andoh, 2015; Lim & Khine, 2006; Özden, 2007; Tatar, Zengin, & Kağızmanlı, 2015). Similarly, Hammond in his study of 2012 found that the use of ICT in schools is limited due to the lack of adequate training for teachers, which may lead teachers to believe that they are not fully prepared for using ICT in teaching (Enochsson & Rizza, 2009). This feeling of inadequacy may also be due to the belief that their training in technological matter is superficial and inconsistent (Moeini, 2008). I therefore suggest that for ICT use in Malawian mathematics classroom to be fully implemented in TTCs, there is a need to train pre and post service lecturers and management teams on the required ICT skills, during their university or college education rather than after the start of their teaching career. An adequate ICT training may contribute to the successful teaching of mathematics using ICT, as suggested by several researchers (Hismanoglu, 2012; Tatar et al., 2015; Thorvaldsen et al., 2012).
Studies have shown that inadequate computer access is another barrier, which may lead to the insufficient implementation of ICT in the classroom (Chen, 2010; Plomp, Anderson, Law, & Quale, 2009; Tondeur, Coopert, & Newhouse, 2010). The accessibility of ICT, particularly computers in schools, may help teachers in the implementation of ICT in the classroom. ICT accessibility is defined as the extent to which ICTs can be accessed or used by all persons irrespective of whether they have a disability or not to achieve a certain specific goal (Natia & Al-hassan, 2015). ICTs such as computers may be used in different ICT forms because they could afford teachers to use various soft wares to teach mathematics content. Therefore, I investigated in depth whether there are enough computers in TTCs for both students and lecturers in order for ICT to be implemented in the mathematics classroom. A study conducted by Asmari (2011) in Saudi Arabia reported that the teachers’ major barrier in ICT integration is the lack of time to prepare ICT materials for
lessons. Similarly, Natia and Al-Hassan found the same results. They found that the major barrier to ICT integration in Ghanaian schools is a lack of time for teachers to prepare ICT related lessons. As in Ghana, Malawian mathematics college lecturers may not have time to design, develop and incorporate ICT into the teaching and learning situation. Chen (2010) and Wang et al. (2014) found that the lack of ICT impedes teachers from using ICT in their schools. Malawian college mathematics lecturers may face also problems related to the lack of time in ICT implementation. This might be due to examination oriented curriculum and shortage of lecturers. Additionally, it seems the college curriculum is silent on the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of mathematics. However, ICT use could be successful if there is a formal collaboration between all relevant stakeholders, college lecturers, policy makers as well as the education system. Therefore, the present study also investigated the lecturers’ perception on the use of ICT in Malawian mathematics college classrooms, which may be influenced by positive and negative factors using explanatory sequential design, as discussed in the next chapter.
2.7. Summary
Drawing from the literature discussed it can be pointed out that there is a need to revise the teacher training programs in most of the African countries in order to integrate ICT training and education. In countries where ICT had been integrated, the content of teacher training programs must focus on ICT integration in preparing future teachers. The implementation of ICT may result in various reactions from parents, students, and lecturers, though the use of ICT does not imply the abandonment of other teaching approaches. In fact, the use of ICT incorporates several teaching approaches for various context. As a result, teacher-training institutions must take ICT use seriously, more especially the computers, as the starting point for their activities. However, mathematics college lecturers should use ICT with the intention of preparing student teachers to teach mathematics in future ICT contexts.
The literature has also shown that there are several factors, which may hinder ICT integration in most of the African countries. These factors should be taken into consideration by all educational stakeholders in order to facilitate the successful implementation of ICT in the mathematics classroom.
Furthermore, the literature demonstrated that ICT integration faces several barriers in African countries. In this sense, there is a need for the government, institutions, lecturers, and students to properly address the issue. If not addressed, ICT integration in African countries will not be achieved. This study therefore is intended to entice all stakeholders concerned with ICT integration to dwell on the factors and barriers, which may hinder ICT integration in college mathematics classrooms and find suitable solutions. The Malawian college mathematics lecturers should be on part with the recent development in ICT for educational and training purposes worldwide.