Integrating Technology in Singapore

Aust. Educ. Res.
(2015) 42:6996
DOI 10.1007/s13384-014-0153-0
How Singapore teachers in a pioneer School

of the Future context deal with the process
of integrating information and communication
technology into the school curriculum
Melvyn H. Lim
Received: 16 June 2013 / Accepted: 16 June 2014 / Published online: 9 July 2014
The Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc. 2014
Abstract The aim of this research was to understand and develop theory concerning how teachers in a pioneer School of the Future in Singapore deal with
information and communication technology (ICT) integration, utilising grounded
theory methods, within the interpretivist paradigm. Findings revealed that teachers
tended not to make radical changes to their teaching methods when responding to
the challenges of integration. Instead, they went through a selective process of
deliberative adaptation which involved the major categories of acknowledging,
adapting, appraising and keeping pace. The study also centred on the main factors
that shape teachers perspectives and experiences, as well as influence ICT integration. Three conceptual propositions were highlighted. These relate to how the
categories and processes of deliberative adaptation can be understood within the
context of everyday classroom practices, as well as teachers encounters with the
dominating forces of society. The theory developed offers insights into how teachers
go about their work in an ICT- enabled classroom.
Keywords Educational technology Future schools Curriculum Professional
development Subject teachers
Introduction
There is a growing body of research literature which indicates that the information
age, with its speed of change, is set to revolutionise all aspects of education (e.g.
Abuhmaid 2011; Arnold et al. 2009; Gao et al. 2010; Stein et al. 2011; UNESCO
2010). Taking an imaginative leap into what the future might be, the ministry of
education (MOE) in Singapore established five Schools of the Future in 2008 to
M. H. Lim (&)
Hwa Chong Institution, 661 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269734, Singapore
e-mail: melvyn_lim@moe.gov.sg
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serve as a model for how students can be prepared for a future dominated by
information and twenty first-century technology. The first five schools were
expected to lead the way in using new technologies for teaching and learning, and
be the pathfinders for the rest of the education community (IDA 2006). The Schools
of the Future initiative, it is predicted, will have a broad and profound impact, not
only on the purposes and functions of schooling in the country, but also on
curriculum design, teaching and learning as well as material resources (Ng 2010).
Predictably, a prominent theme that has emerged from the literature on Schools of
the Future is this: education innovation is paramount. The fundamental premise of
many educational studies on ICT seems to be that while technology alone does not
necessarily improve the learning process, the use of interactive digital media can
enhance curriculum, provide richness of content, and enable teachers to teach more
effectively (Wilma 2010).
Globally, integrating ICT into teaching is a fast-expanding area that has attracted
many teachers efforts in recent years. This is reflected in the research conducted
over the last 10 years (e.g. Barton and Haydn 2006; Davis et al. 2009a; Lim and
Chai 2008; UNESCO 2008). The development of new technologies has made it
possible for both students and teachers to gain access to digital resources, share and
negotiate information, as well as collaborate and co-create knowledge (Luckin
2008). Passey (2006) notes that not only is the current level of deployment of ICT in
schools higher than ever before, the diversity of forms of ICT has also increased.
Yet, technology integration is a complex and demanding issue that at times places
considerable burden on schools and teachers (Gulbahar 2007; OECD 2010). New
technologies could involve new teacher roles and new pedagogies in often
unpredictable educational environments (UNESCO 2008). And integrating ICT into
day-to-day teaching has been more difficult than initially envisaged. Apart from the
technical hurdles, the research points to the crucial roles teachers play in relation to
teaching with ICT (e.g. Inan and Lowther 2010; Teo 2011). In this regard, teachers
values and beliefs, time management issues, and teacher training are major
contributing factors to teachers resistance in the use of ICT (Bound 2011; Devolder
et al. 2010; Kopcha 2010; Prestridge 2009).
In a Future School, teachers play a pivotal role in developing classroom
practices where computers and other technologies feature prominently. Successful
integration of ICT requires not only radical change in the core activities of schools
but also the help of teachers in modifying pedagogy. Indeed, many studies across
the globe on the use of new technology in schools have concluded that successful
ICT implementation is likely to depend more on people and socio-cultural factors
than with the technology per se (e.g. Chen 2010; Hung et al. 2010; Stein et al. 2011).
Research also points to the important leadership role teachers play in relation to
teaching with ICT (Barber and Mourshed 2009; Bate 2010; Chen et al. 2009a, b;
Davis et al. 2009a; Donnelly et al. 2011; Lim and Chai 2008). Teachers provide
guidance and direction, as well as take initiatives and responsibility for what
happens in their own classrooms (Davis et al. 2009b). Tondeur et al. (2007) argue
that unless there is greater understanding of teachers perspectives and classroom
practices, school-based ICT curriculum reform is not likely to succeed. The aim of
the research was thus to understand the teachers perspectives on how they deal with
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Integrating ICT into the school curriculum
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ICT integration in the complex social and technological context in which they work,
the problems and opportunities they face, and their problem-solving strategies to
overcome challenges. By delving into an area where little research has been carried
out, this qualitative study can provide valuable data for theory building.
The remainder of this paper is divided into four sections. The first section gives
an overview of the study site and lists the central research question, as well as four
guiding questions. An outline of the research design is also presented. The second
section constitutes an exposition on theory which was developed regarding the
central research question, namely, how subject teachers in a pioneer School of the
Future in Singapore deal with the process of integrating ICT into the school
curriculum. The theory of deliberative adaptation has emerged as the substantive
theory relating to this question. Four major categories which constitute the theory;
acknowledging; adapting; appraising; and keeping pace are explained, as are core
processes within each category. In the third section, the focus shifts to the main
factors that shape teachers perspectives and experiences, as well as influence ICT
integration. Three conceptual propositions are highlighted. These relate to how the
categories and processes of deliberative adaptation can be understood within the
context of everyday classroom practices, as well as teachers encounters with the
dominating forces of society. In the final section, implications of the research
findings for the development of policy and practice are briefly addressed.
The current study

Study site
The research site was situated in one of the five Singaporean schools that pioneered
the Future School initiative in 2008. The project is a joint-initiative by MOE and
the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to harness ICT for
teaching and learning. It involves collaborating with national and international
partner institutions such as Singapore Technologies, Singapore Telecom, Hewlett
Packard and Microsoft Singapore. The Future School which is the study site caters
to students aged 1318 (Grade 7 through to Grade 12). The school has approval
from the MOE to conduct the Integrated Programme, which enables its students to
bypass the GCE ordinary-level examinations at Grade 10. The time freed up for
such students is used to provide greater breadth in the academic and non-academic
curriculum. Teachers in this school offering the Integrated Programme are given
more space and greater flexibility to engage in ICT experimentation within a less
structured learning environment. However, these teachers are still required to
prepare students for the GCE advanced-level examinations at the end of Grade 12.
Research aims
As a School of the Future, fundamental changes integral to the realisation of the
Future School vision can threaten established roles, practices, and relationships.
The generation of new roles and responsibilities, as well as the need to keep pace
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with technology, can present teachers with deep challenges and enduring tension in
their work lives (Lim and Chai 2008; Osterlund and Robson 2009). The purpose of
the research is to generate substantive theory on how specialist subject teachers in a
pioneer School of the Future in Singapore deal with the process of integrating ICT
into the curriculum. The term substantive as it relates to theory is used in a
grounded theory sense (Strauss and Corbin 1998).
Research questions
The central research question asks:
How do subject teachers who are responsible for integrating ICT into the
school curriculum in a pioneer School of the Future in Singapore deal with
the process of integration?
This is a theory-laden research question centering on the concept of deal with as
used by the symbolic interactionist ODonoghue (2007). It suggests that the notion
of deal with is in effect a shorthanded way of asking a number of interrelated
questions. What symbolic interactionists are really doing when they pose the
question how do participants deal with situations is asking what are the patterns
over a particular period of time from an investigation of participants perspectives,
their actions in the light of their perspectives, and changes (if any) which take place
in the participants perspectives as a result of these actions (ODonoghue 2007:47).
Four guiding questions were also asked:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are teachers intentions with regard to integrating ICT into the school
curriculum in a pioneer Future School and the reasons they give for these
intentions?
What are the strategies these subject teachers possess to achieve their intentions
and the reasons they give for selecting these strategies?
What is the significance the teachers attach to their intentions and strategies and
the reasons they give for this?
What are the outcomes that these teachers expect from implementing their
chosen strategies aimed at integrating ICT in the curriculum under the Future
School initiative and the reasons they give for these expected outcomes?
Research design
The qualitative research was conducted using the symbolic interactionist theoretical
approach, under the interpretivist paradigm, utilising grounded theory methods of
data gathering and analysis. The prime interest of qualitative research concerns how
participants make sense of what happens in their day-to-day situations (Maxwell
1996). Because my aim was to understand the meaning and nature of experience of
teachers engaged in the process of ICT integration, a qualitative research method
was deemed suitable as it required a reaching out to the teachers in the school and
finding out what they were doing and thinking (Strauss and Corbin 1998). The study
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was designed to gather thick descriptive data (Geertz 1973) from teachers as they
integrated ICT into the school curriculum in their natural setting.
The research methods included interviewing and document analysis. Two rounds
of one-on-one interviews with participant subject teachers were carried out. The
participants were given a semi-structured interview guide three days in advance of
each interview to allow for participant reflections. The first round of interview
provided a snapshot picture of each teacher, their perspectives, experiences and
their classroom situation. As themes arose they were pursued with the participants.
Each interview was tape recorded with consent from the participants.
The second round of interviews, undertaken some 6 months later, served a
number of purposes. First, vital areas previously overlooked were canvassed.
Second, participants were asked to check their interview transcripts at this stage and
again invited to add and/or delete to ensure an accurate representation of their case.
Third, the interview was used to gather supplementary data about the concepts
which emerged from the analysis of the earlier interview transcripts as well as to
identify the experiences each teacher had been having since the last meeting.
Following the second round of interviews, the participants received a transcript of
their meeting and were contacted to discuss and verify the concepts that emerged.
Both rounds of interviews were semi-structured.
The interviews were conducted throughout the 2010/2011 calendar school year.
Apart from approaching teachers from different subject areas, another important
consideration was sample size. According to Patton (1990:184), there are no rules
for sample size in qualitative inquiry. Although the number of participants was not
specified beforehand, it was determined by the achievement of theoretical
saturation, i.e. when data from the interview process yielded no new insights. In
the end, data for this study were gathered from 21 teachers from a range of subjects
taught, including English and Chinese languages, humanities, mathematics, and the
sciences. Of the teachers who participated 9 were male and 12 were female, roughly
reflecting the ratio of male to female teachers in the school.
Grounded theory methods were used in data analysis (Strauss and Corbin 1994).
The data analysis undertaken involved three types of coding: open coding, axial
coding and selective coding. Using inductive analysis, patterns, themes and
categories began to emerge from the data. The emerging themes were then outlined
and further illustrated through extensive teacher quotes. The coding procedures
were applied flexibly to meet changing circumstances throughout the period of data
gathering, analysis and theory formulation.
Theory of deliberative adaptation

The outcomes of analysis presented in this section constitute an exposition on theory
which was developed regarding the central research question, namely, how
specialist subject teachers in a pioneer School of the Future in Singapore deal with
the process of integrating ICT into the school curriculum. The theory of
deliberative adaptation has emerged as the substantive theory relating to this
question. Deliberative adaptation is a complex theory which is constructed of four
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distinct categories: acknowledging; adapting; appraising; and keeping pace. Each

category is made up of a series of specific but interrelated processes.
It is important at the start to note that, while the categories are presented in a
linear manner where there is progression from one reaction and accompanying
perspective to the next, the processes outlined in this section are not intended to be
rigid. That is to say, some or all reactions and accompanying perspectives may be
experienced concurrently, or even on occasion, in a different order. It is also
important to note that the categories presented in this section do not constitute
specific data of an individual, but are conceptual terms derived from analysis of the
face-to-face interviews of the participants. Each of these categories is discussed in
turn. The focus of this section is the development of theory. Integration of findings
with the literature on ICT integration is delayed to the section which follows this
one. That section further develops theory in the form of three propositions.
Category 1: acknowledging
There is widespread consensus amongst participants that technology is now an
integral part of their everyday life, at work and at home. Teachers acknowledged
that todays students have a natural affinity with new and emerging technologies,
having grown up with computers and the Internet. These post-Internet generation
students adapt to changes effortlessly in school, expect instant access to
information, and eschew passive learning. Significantly, most teachers conceded
quite readily that there is a conspicuous chasm between the many ways ICT has
impacted on their daily lives and how little it has affected classroom teaching. As
one teacher reflected:
ICT has already transformed the way we work, live and communicate with
each other. We observe students being exposed to digital gadgets and things
around them that are quite different from previous generations. Yet schools
have not experienced much change in the last few decades. (#P11)
All the teachers in the research undertaken for this thesis acknowledged that the use
of ICT is inevitable. The following was how another teacher put it: The dam has
broken. There is no way back to normality. (#P3)
When first informed that the school had been selected as a pioneer Future
School, many saw the initiative as the right moment to work out a shared school
vision on ICT integration. Teachers instinctive reaction was to assess the impact of
this national initiative on their work life. Moreover, given the pervasive use of ICT
in society and technologys growing role in education, the task of integrating ICT
into the school curriculum was deemed by the participants to be urgent. The
processes that teachers engaged in to understand their new roles in a Future School
are categorised within the theory of deliberative adaptation as acknowledging.
Within acknowledging there are three distinct but inter-related processes:
Analysing, reconciling, and rationalising. Each of these is now considered in turn,
using the action involved in each case as the organising concept.
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Analysing
Analysing is the process through which teachers begin to gather and closely examine
information they have received from various sources about the different aspects of
the Future School. They use these disparate pieces of information and match them
with their current understanding of emerging technologies in education. In
analysing, teachers rely on both internal and external sources.
Internally, teachers discussed formally with school administrators the level of ongoing support they would receive to integrate ICT into their practices. The list of
teacher enquiries on the extent and types of support included infrastructure, access
to resources (hardware and software), support personnel, training and professional
development, strategic goals of the Future School, role of the schools leadership
as well as management educational philosophy. In a pioneer Future School, this
preliminary discussion was particularly salient as there were often no fixed points of
reference on how to get started. With no workable blueprints and no time-tested
strategies, teachers were initially not sure what they were expected to do. One
teacher commented:
The very concept of a Future School is vague. The school talks about ICT
integration, and so did MOE in the ICT Master plan. Both have been very
vague. They dont concretely specify it. For all intents and purposes, the
practical definition of ICT integration seems to be that as long as you use
something related to computers that is ICT. We started off talking about the
use of Powerpoint and videos. That was in 1997/8. Now it seems that as long
as you use something related to the Internet that is ICT integration. (#P13)
In general, teachers saw the importance of students using technology as a powerful
tool for their future. On the road ahead, one teacher made the following comment:
I think the people who conceptualised the Future School left it purposefully
open. Beyond the hardware, all of us are fairly uncertain where this is going to
take us. For me, the real concern is where and how are we going to integrate
technology to achieve what is now termed as 21st- century competencies and
skills. (#P12)
In practice, the schools vision on ICT integration had been published in the
schools ICT policy plan. While some expressed scepticism and feelings of
uncertainty, teachers generally understood that, as pioneers, the process of
supporting ICT integration was going to be a dynamic one involving a range of
interrelated factors and individuals over time. They readily conceded that
technology can help students master a wide variety of twenty first-century skills
that will be useful throughout their lives.
Teachers also engaged in informal conversations with colleagues on technology
integration and the impact of the Future School initiative. Teachers claimed that
this initial quest for practical information begins in an ad-hoc search for guidance in
their teaching preparations. Often, they discussed classroom strategies and
exchanged ideas on successful ICT techniques with friends and colleagues. One
teacher revealed:
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One way that really helps me is to talk to colleagues who are already using
ICT. I simply observe how they use technology, and sometimes we bounce
ideas off each other. (#P1)
Teachers reported using whatever information they had gathered as the basis for
making decisions during the course of the year. To gain new information, teachers
generally relied on advice from colleagues, as well as their own experiences. As a
result of engaging in analysing, teachers understanding of integration and the
advantages technology can bring changed significantly over the school year. The
main point is that the initial analyses helped teachers determine the overall school
vision for technology integration and served as a guide to set appropriate short- and
long-term goals for themselves.
Reconciling
Reconciling is the process through which teachers come to terms with ICT
integration in relation to their existing professional duties. Teachers generally
decided to integrate technology to meet mandatory school policies, and what they
viewed as changing students expectations. They noted that students access to
technology at home and in school had increased dramatically over the last few
years. Thus using technology in the classroom and the impending changes were
inevitable. One teacher reflected:
We cannot say No to technology. It is a school initiative. We might as well
be reconciled to this fact. Also with the iPhone and iPad generation, you cant
simply teach them on a whiteboard anymore. Students ask questions and
challenge you. I have to accept this fact. If we continue the way we ourselves
had been taught, it is not going to work. (#P10)
A few envisioned new ICT tools supplementing and even replacing traditional
teaching methods that no longer worked for young people. In the words of another
teacher:
I think students today expect us to use ICT. Undoubtedly, intensive face-toface interaction will always remain important. But you will be branded a
dinosaur if you insist on old-fashioned lesson delivery. (#P16)
Once they accepted that the Future School was here to stay, teachers started to
explore the opportunities that facilitate the use of technology in their classroom.
Teachers mostly saw online instruction as beneficial for students where the
traditional mode of teaching was not the most effective. Still, most held on to the
view that offline interaction should be supplemented, not supplanted, by online
teaching.
Teachers claimed that the decision to use technology was based in part on their
perspectives about how technology could improve student learning. A few valued
technology as a tool for efficient and accessible delivery of teaching materials. For
example, with podcast and Wikispaces, students had the ability to pause and listen to
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the same lectures again, allowing for more detailed understanding. One teacher
commented:
The online lessons enabled me to engage students at a much higher level. I
managed to teach 15 year olds the concept of critical discourse analysis. But it
was something I could not do in the traditional classroom. If I were to simply
run the slides, students would not be able to follow. But because they had the
opportunity to learn at home at their own pace, they could review the lessons
at their own time. (#P18)
Significantly, as teachers became more conversant with the use of technology, their
views changed accordingly even though little had changed in the external
environment. One teacher reflected:
Without ICT, I cannot imagine how I can make the subject interesting. I wont
say that technology is indispensable, but ICT has benefited me and my
students. At the very least it provides a broader perspective. You are able to
cross disciplines, arouse interest, and pique curiosity. Without ICT I cannot
work effectively. (#P10)
The outcome of the process of reconciling influences the extent to which teachers
integrate ICT into their classroom teaching. In situations where these teachers were
able to harmonise the use of technology and their personal and professional lives,
they were more willing to combine ICT skills with innovations in pedagogy and
curriculum. Conversely, the teachers who held negative views about integrating ICT
were less likely to apply ICT in practice. Despite the widespread commitment to
integrating ICT in the school, for some of these teachers it was clearly accompanied
by a feeling of outside-imposed pressure. A participant conceded as much stating:
Teachers are already very busy. So if you want them to integrate ICT on top of the
job that they are already doing, naturally there will be some resistance. (#P7)
Rationalising
After a decision was made, teachers reflected beyond the how, where, and when to
use technology for classroom activities. They also justified integration based on
their personal convictions about technology. Teachers claimed that they often had to
justify to themselves and colleagues where they stood in terms of strategies and
skills for technology integration, and how the institutional Future School
objectives were to be met. It is through the process of rationalising that teachers
developed a consistent viewpoint about ICT integration.
Having a definite stand, teachers claimed, led them to carry out a full range of
actions that they had earlier planned and enabled them to justify the position they
had taken with regard to ICT integration. A teacher was engaging in this process
when she remarked:
I think it is for survival in the new economy. We are moving towards a
knowledge-based economy. If we dont keep up with the skills, we wont
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survive. If you dont have the means to gain access to new knowledge, you
will be left out and greatly disadvantaged. (#P18)
Even so, all the teachers in the study reported that they were acutely aware that
adopting new software applications to enhance teaching and learning was not
without risks. In this regard, most teachers argued that it was more important to have
clearly defined tasks and modest learning outcomes when starting novel ICT
lessons, rather than carry out risky experimentation with the aim of transforming
classroom practice.
Category 2: adapting
Adapting is the central or core phenomenon of deliberative adaptation. It is the
central phenomenon around which all the other categories are integrated. At the
core, teachers generally believed that technology is a useful tool that can support
teaching in student-centered ways. However, they also held the view that
technology is neither a silver bullet, nor a panacea in education. Teachers were
cognisant of new technologies potential. But they were intensely aware of the
issues that can generate from the use of ICT for its own sake.
Analysis of data indicated that teachers tended not to make radical changes to
their teaching methods or curriculum content when responding to the challenges of
integration. Instead, they went through a deliberative process of adapting new
technologies that was both measured and selective. Teachers consciously chose to
integrate ICT into the school curriculum if and when they saw educational value in
doing so. This was due in part to the fact that integration is costly in terms of the
time needed to develop and establish new classroom practices. Teachers also
integrated technology at different rates depending on their knowledge, individual
skills and perspectives about technology. In general, teachers dealt with their work
in an ICT-supported classroom by deliberatively adapting aspects of technology to
their regular teaching practices. Adapting consists of three major processes:
deliberating, selecting, and reacting.
Deliberating
Deliberating is a process in which teachers think about ways technology can be
applied to teaching, as well as to justify the choice of ICT tools used in their
classroom. This is important as Future School teachers were given the autonomy
to define technologys role within the curriculum. Within the school, they had a
major say in designing and implementing development plans for technology use. In
all cases, teachers deliberated very carefully whether or not to incorporate ICT into
a particular lesson. And they reported that inappropriate use of ICT must be resisted.
Significantly, all the teachers in my research saw technology as a tool. As one
teacher put it:
Technology is a tool that helps us get things done faster. It should work so
smoothly that we dont even notice the tool. A good tool is a transparent tool.
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Any time we have to pay more attention to the tool we are using than the job
that we are trying to do, then I think something is wrong. (#P3)
For most teachers, technology was not even the point. For them, the real focus was
on achieving the lesson objectives. All the participants were unequivocal about how
their curriculum and lesson objectives, not technology, remained the focus of ICT
integration. Teachers firmly maintained that technology was not the driving force in
their thinking and practice. Echoing this common sentiment, another teacher
commented:
My lesson objectives have nothing to do with ICT. I put teaching first, and
then find the tools to help me. Lessons and teaching are my main focus. (#P19)
Teachers reported that if they were to adopt any online pedagogical approaches
meaningfully, there must be a good fit with the lesson objectives and their
intentions. Participants asserted that school administrators almost always (mistakenly) assumed that educational technologies were new tools waiting to be picked
up and used. But combining lesson objectives, classroom situations, and individual
ICT tools was more complex than what it was made out to be. Teachers, often, had
to be persuaded not only that the use of ICT would enhance the quality of
instruction, but also that new technology must be as easy as, if not easier than,
traditional instructional methods. One teacher reflected:
For many school administrators, their view is that ICT is already that much
easier to use than it was in the past. So they are not sure why teachers are not
queuing up to put it into practice. I think that ICT has to take up no more time
than the alternative, hopefully even less time, before teachers go into it. In fact
if ICT is as easy to use as the alternative, a lot of us (teachers) still do not see a
compelling reason to switch to ICT when I can walk into class with a
whiteboard marker. (#P4)
Where these teachers were concerned, there must be a compelling reason for
using these new tools. This was because preparing lessons that integrate emerging
technologies was time-consuming. And finding time to integrate ICT and learn new
software application was a common constraint many teachers faced.
For many of the teachers, the adoption of technology was necessarily a highly
deliberative process. Teachers also maintained that technology integration was slow
work. That is to say, ICT skills were built on each other even as new technology was
introduced and assimilated into the school culture. Achieving full integration, they
claimed, was a slow and evolutionary process.
Selecting
Selecting involves teachers adopting specific pedagogy and software applications to
connect the potential of ICT to the subject they are teaching. The process of
selecting is critical because teachers often had to contend with the many forms of
technology available to them. This was accentuated by the fact that the rapidly
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evolving computer systems and software could be combined in an infinite number of

ways. One teacher reflected:
We cannot have all the teachers trying everything in the world, and expect all
of them to cope with the changes. So an important task for those in charge is to
look at what is available and decide the key technologies we want to adopt
before we cascade them to teachers. (#P11)
In selecting, teachers generally stayed away from the latest fads, preferring gradual
change rather than any shifts on a big scale, and adapting new classroom practices in
stages to avert technological upheaval. Teachers conceded that it was a good thing
to make lessons more interesting using ICT. However, their own experience told
them that sometimes other tried and tested methods worked better. One participant
put it as follows:
Integrating ICT is not about expensive gadgets, nor is it about using the latest
technology. For schools, there is a good reason not to be at the cutting-edge
because that is expensive, and there are glitches yet to be ironed out. Go with
the tried and tested, things like videos. They have been around for years. The
only significant change is that it is cheaper and easier now with a webcam. We
should be going for low hanging fruits, stuff that gives many returns for
minimal initial investment. (#P13)
Teachers also reported that just because computers were in the classroom did not
mean that they had to use them. Their focus was using ICT only when its value in
enhancing teaching was clear. For these teachers, inappropriate use of cuttingedge technology for its own sake must be resisted.
In selecting, another common response was that the curriculum and lesson
objectives must determine the kinds of Web 2.0 tools used, and not the other way
round. Teachers claimed that they would be reluctant to integrate ICT into the
curriculum simply because technology was available or its use was encouraged.
Rather, appropriate technology should be used to enhance teaching in the right way,
with the right group, at the right time, and in the right context.
For teachers, the selecting process tended to move at first from a narrow focus on
using technology for lesson preparation to the setting up of independent or
collaborative ICT-based projects. Teachers claimed that seeing and experiencing
firsthand the advantages of technology integration encouraged them to use ICT
innovatively in the classroom. Once they were persuaded that ICT integration led to
classroom improvement, they started to think of novel ways to merge new
technologies with new pedagogies.
On the whole, teachers tended to experiment with different ICT applications and
drew on a range of digital resources available to create their lesson plans. They were
generally excited about using technology to enhance activity above and beyond
what traditional teaching approaches and materials can offer. Nonetheless, teachers
reported being concerned about the need to spend time with students helping them
with ICT skills at the expense of time spent explaining subject specific concepts.
This was especially salient in an environment where teachers already felt there was
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considerable pressure to cover much ground in a packed curriculum, and subject

pedagogy was dictated largely by the nature of the year-end examinations.
Reacting
Reacting is the process where teachers respond to their daily teaching practices
while trialing new technologies in their classrooms. Often, teachers made changes to
their Internet-based activities in response to a particular classroom experience they
had had. The aim of this process is to make a positive change to the way the
classroom is operating. Through reacting, teachers attempted to change specific
classroom practices with which they were dissatisfied. Teachers also made changes
which they believed could help students develop more critical responses to the vast
amount of information on the Internet. One teacher reflected on her experience:
My aim is to help students to be critical. I want them to evaluate things they
come across. What we want is for students to engage the ideas and consider
the ideas thoroughly. (#P16)
Through a trial and error process, teachers claimed that classroom pedagogy was
slowly evolving even as the teachers role developed to encompass mediating the
process of ICT-based learning. Teachers also alluded to greater flexibility in how
teaching and learning could take place. They reported that lessons might no longer
be linear but a web, or inter-textual. Participants conceded that this presented a
greater challenge for teachers. They had to be on their toes in class and nimble
enough to allow their lessons to move in different directions as they unfolded.
Category 3: appraising
The third category of appraising comprises processes in which teachers evaluate the
quality of outcomes of integration. Teachers evaluated their own use of technology
by taking into account not only the lesson objectives but also the wider goals of the
Future School initiative. They also drew conclusions about the outcomes of the
modifications they had made to their curriculum and classroom activities.
Teachers not only appraised their own position, but also made adjustments and
reappraised the outcomes of the adjustment on an ongoing basis. They also made
pre-emptive changes based on new information they had received about the Future
School project. There was no blind faith in technology. The third category of
appraising consists of three major processes: evaluating, adjusting, and
strategising.
Evaluating
Evaluating comprises processes in which teachers assess their own use of
technology in class activities, taking into account their lesson objectives and
classroom logistics. Data suggest that these teachers were often clear about the use
of ICT in the classroom. They wanted lessons to be more fun, collaborative and
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interactive. And they drew conclusions about the modifications they had made to
their curriculum and e-learning packages and weighed the outcomes against the
wider goals of the Future School initiative.
In evaluating, teachers reported that technology could be a useful tool for
improving student comprehension of complex content. They claimed that experiential tools and interactive technologies such as virtual reality, spreadsheets, and
graphing technologies allowed students to visualise complex relationships and
understand abstract concepts. Teachers who made effective use of technologies
tended to be those who were resourceful, adept at overcoming obstacles and had a
wide repertoire of ICT tools at their disposal. In evaluating, teachers reported that
their use of interactive technology in the classroom was something they thought
about all the time. According to them, integration often required a great deal of
planning, an array of teaching strategies across subjects, and different standards and
benchmarks. These teachers also set high targets for their students with clear lesson
objectives.
However, not everything was rosy. Despite the fact that ICT use had been
incorporated into schemes of work, some teachers reported a lack of guidelines to
match technology with curriculum goals that would lead to successful integration.
Teachers expressed frustration and disappointment when there was a lack of clarity
and focus in identifying what their departments are trying to accomplish in terms of
learning goals and standards. Particularly frustrating was a lack of clarity and
direction in curriculum standards and expectations on student performance. Here,
teachers reported that they would appreciate their immediate supervisors focusing
on quality rather than quantity and giving them more room and freedom in the
selection and coverage of materials. One specific challenge was the setting of
appropriate targets for the range of tasks and performance expectations. A teacher
reflected:
With online learning, teachers are being asked to do more with less. For every
online lesson our heads expect from us some deliverables. Or at least that is
the current expectation. But we cant realistically expect one piece of writing
for every online lesson conducted, because it is simply not practical. (#P19)
At times, the source of frustration came from teachers lacking the skills and
competencies for effective integration, or not knowing what classroom strategies
had been implemented effectively elsewhere. At other times, the frustration was
attributed to conditions specific to teachers subject areas, department work culture
or classroom environment and student profile.
Yet other teachers voiced local classroom concerns and logistical issues.
Teachers claimed that they spent a lot of time handholding and monitoring
students in and outside class. In class, teachers sometimes expressed frustration, not
only through technical limitations and glitches, but also students being distracted by
online sites such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter during lessons. In evaluating,
participants reported that the appointment of teacher-coordinators was vital to
sustain classroom innovation. Besides fulfilling technical roles, teacher-coordinators
could train and mentor fellow teachers in the area of ICT as well as role model
pedagogy. They were able to go beyond dealing with practical problems of
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installation and use of computers to facilitating changes and innovation in the

curriculum.
Adjusting
Because the rapidly evolving computer systems and software can be combined in an
infinite number of ways, teachers not only evaluated their position, but also made
adjustments and reappraised the outcomes of the adjustment on an ongoing basis.
Adjusting is a process in which teachers identify aspects of their classroom practices
for change and align the direct effects of specific changes to their overall teaching
strategies.
The complex and dynamic environment of a Future School made adjusting
particularly challenging. Teachers had to take into account the fact that any change
carried a number of interrelated consequences. One teacher reflected:
With technology, things move very fast. When you get used to something a
new thing pops up and you learn all over again. So the learning process never
ends. You have to adopt the attitude of learning, unlearning and relearning.
(#P11)
The process of adjusting involved teachers weighing the outcomes and gauging
progress towards meaningful use of ICT. When the participants engaged in the
process of adjusting, they were also asking: Which technologies? How will they be
used? Have the adjustments made enhanced my capacity to deal with ICT in the
classroom? Will educational software and multimedia applications be created or
acquired? In adjusting, incompatible software purchases can become a major issue
with which teachers had to contend. Where technology was concerned, there were
perhaps as many competing online platforms as there were teachers who had the
time and inclination to experiment with their potential. When the teachers made
adjustments to their classroom ICT practices, different aspects of teaching such as
curriculum design and assessment were important pedagogical considerations. But
the final outcomes in terms of academic performance weighed most heavily on their
mind.
Strategising
Strategising involves teachers making pre-emptive changes based on the information they have received about the Future School project. Teachers were engaged in
strategising when they considered the contributions ICT makes towards enhancing
the teaching of specific subjects. Many teachers also reported that they saw ICT as
potentially a highly effective tool to create authentic learning and enhance
interdisciplinary studies. In strategising, teachers took advantage of the abundant
resources available in a Future School to integrate technology into their
instruction. Building collaborative learning communities and introducing multidisciplinary research were two examples of this. Here, technology could facilitate more
complex and broader learning experiences that previously would be difficult to
achieve.
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Category 4: keeping pace

Teaching with technology is a highly valued and respected activity in the school
which was the focus of this research. Nonetheless teachers sometimes struggled to
handle both the complexity of ICT integration and the fast evolving sophisticated
technologies. Many viewed technology as something unstable and always changing.
Teachers claimed that this was a major barrier to the use of technology in the
classroom.
The participants also conceded that new technologies were likely to confront
them at an increasing rate. The challenge was exacerbated by the fact that emerging
technologies not only morphed quickly, but almost always outpaced curriculum
development. Unless teachers took the initiative, they were ill-equipped to deal with
the information overload generated. So, in danger of being overwhelmed by an
avalanche of information and new gadgets, teachers constantly needed to make the
effort to keep pace with the latest Web applications and thought what they could do
with emerging software in order to guide students.
Teachers came to the conviction that having coping strategies at their disposal
would empower them not only to deal with the tsunami of information, gadgets
and materials, but also actually use ICT in ways that transform their teaching
practice. In making the connection between technology and subject teaching, there
was a strong sense felt by the participants that the coping strategies were the means
by which they could attempt to handle the challenges that stood in the way of
integration. It was this contention that constituted the main motivating force in
teachers developing strategies to keep pace with emerging technologies. Keeping
pace consists of three major processes: equipping, networking, and collaborating.
Equipping
Equipping comprises processes in which different teachers adopt different
approaches to ICT training, all with the aim of improving their professional
practice. Teachers generally reported that it was imperative that they constantly
engaged in training activities and professional development to cope with the
blinding speed of technological change. In equipping, teachers used a variety of
formal and informal coping strategies.
Informally, most teachers reported that their first port of call to gaining access to
knowledge on their own concerning technology integration was the Internet. Here,
many of them depended on self-learning. For some, far from being flummoxed, they
claimed that the development of ICT skills would automatically follow as a result of
using technology. One teacher commented:
The Internet is self-teaching. For most teachers in their mid-thirties, to catch
up with our students is actually not too difficult. You just have to play with the
thing. Everybody has interests. So just follow your interests and along the way
you will actually learn how to search the Internet. And of course we will get
subsequent cohorts of teachers who are digital natives. I actually think it is not
difficult for teachers to learn how to use ICT. (#P13)
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For some teachers, it was learning by doing where the Internet was concerned.
Although widely reported as useful by teachers, the online search was described as
being a difficult one. Even when teachers had ready access to online journals and
resource material, this could have shortcomings. For example, teachers claimed that
an abundance of data was revealed when key words or phrases were entered into the
different search engines. Their initial searches often resulted in a very broad
selection of non-specific information that was useless. This could be a frustrating
and futile exercise. Yet other teachers had difficulty staying focused and were
distracted (even intimidated) by the sheer volume of information and wide range of
options on the Internet. At times, some teachers described a feeling of helplessness
in trying to keep pace with new and emerging technologies. Apart from trying to
identify material and programs that best suit their needs, teachers had to spend hours
outside the classroom learning new application software. Moreover, the same
computer program or software application that worked well in one subject often
might not support other subjects as well.
By and large, most teachers felt the need to attend formal workshops, courses and
professional sharing sessions to further their knowledge and skills in integrating
technology. The participants reported that they found the schools in-house training
helpful and useful. Most teachers thought that professional sharing sessions by
fellow teachers were a valuable means of conveying practical tips, sharing success
stories, and exchanging ideas and information regarding ICT integration.
Networking
To keep pace with technology, the teachers not only adopted personal tactics of
equipping but also social strategies. Networking comprises processes in which
teachers learned from immediate colleagues and seasoned IT-savvy teachers within
the school. At the same time, they also widened their learning and enquiries outside
the school and establish dense networks of people and resources.
Within the school, teachers reported that technology integration was largely
influenced by the support that came from peers and the school administration. When
teachers felt they were ready to make use of ICT in teaching, they first initiated
informal discussions with immediate department colleagues whom they considered
to have developed effective ICT-based lessons. As one teacher commented:
Sometimes we rely on colleagues who are very good in a certain area. There
are people in our school who like to go on the Internet to look for things, and
they are very up-to-date. So we ask these people to recommend good
application tools and freeware. (#P16)
These were usually teachers who had created multimedia resources and accumulated considerable knowledge and experience facilitating online groups. Teachers
also reported seeking permission to observe colleagues ICT-based lessons in
action. However, this step was taken at times with some trepidation and reluctance.
Some cited being embarrassed because they believed that they might be thought less
of as a teacher, or that some of their professional shortcomings might be exposed.
Teachers claimed that as Asians they were afraid of losing face (losing credibility
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in the eyes of others) and would avoid approaching another teacher unless it was
someone they trusted. But once teachers overcame their initial anxieties and became
confident enough to venture forth on their own, the deep engagement with
technology in the classroom was generally described as a worthwhile experience.
Teachers also reported that mentoring was a good way to increase ones confidence
and interest in technology. Many claimed that they needed practical advice and
someone to show them what was available and how to use ICT effectively in the
classroom. Some argued that positive modelling of ICT by a mentor was useful in
improving the comfort levels of using technology.
Collaborating
Collaborating is a process where teachers work with their peers and commercial
vendors to support and promote technology integration. Working collaboratively
allowed teachers to keep pace with the relentless pace of change and encouraged
more complex uses of technology in the future. It was an increasingly vital coping
strategy, and teachers claimed that working in groups helped them become more
efficient and effective. It also created a non-threatening learning environment, and
thus a helpful way of making progress in ICT. This was captured in the following
teachers comments:
ICT is changing at such bewildering speed, and the pace of change is
breathtaking. There is so much information we cant possibly do everything on
our own. Collaboration would eventually play a big role. We have to rely on
each other and take advantage of each others knowledge. (#P19)
In collaborating, teachers normally established formal group meetings with other
teachers to discuss new ways to integrate technology and provide support for
technology-enhanced lessons. One teacher reflected:
A lot of using ICT is trial and error. For example, I wasnt very familiar at first
with Wikispaces. But by collaborating with colleagues on the project I was
able to solve many problems and overcome quite a few barriers. (#P12)
There were, however, some caveats to working in groups. While teachers described
the school culture as one that encouraged collaborative work, they also acknowledged that the time factor as well as composition of members from different
disciplines could constitute a legitimate constraint in terms of offering assistance.
Consequently, this suggestion of greater collaboration might be deemed unrealistic
given the present organisation framework of the school.
The aim of this section was to generate theory regarding how teachers in a
pioneer School of the Future in Singapore deal with the process of integrating ICT
into the school curriculum. For teachers, the first year following the initial
announcement that the school had been selected to be a Future School was a
period in which they were at once excited by the new opportunities and daunted by
the formidable challenge. This section has discussed in some detail the categories
and interrelated processes relating to the overall theory of deliberative adaptation.
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Propositions relating to understanding the categories and processes

of Deliberative Adaptation
The theory of deliberative adaptation, reported in the previous section, emerged
from the analysis of data, and is grounded in the actions and interactions of
specialist subject teachers in a pioneer School of the Future in Singapore. The
further development of theory in this section through the expression of three
propositions centres on teachers perspectives and experiences, as well as the factors
that enhance or diminish teachers ability to adapt ICT applications for classroom
instruction. The propositions in this section also shed light on teachers encounters
with the dominating forces of society. Each of the three propositions is now
considered in turn.
Proposition 1 Once teachers accept that the Future School is here to stay, they
deal with ICT integration in different ways that fit their unique situations. This is
because the complexity of ICT integration places an overwhelming range and
diversity of expectations, tasks, and responsibilities on teachers. A consequence is
that teachers views of their own roles often change because of the need to adapt if
they are to engage a new generation of students familiar with emerging
technologies.
Recent studies have shown that teachers pedagogical perspectives concerning
teaching innovation as well as knowledge about learning technologies affect their
use of ICT in the classroom (Chen and Tsai 2009; Cviko et al. 2012; Hsu 2010;
Thang et al. 2010). Teachers in this research reported that working with ICT was
difficult and complicated. This was not only because they needed to grapple with
new technologies that were emerging, but also that they were expected to use the
new tools for dealing with longstanding classroom issues and perennial problems
related to teaching and learning. While all the participants in this research conceded
that the use of ICT would progressively change the role of teachers in the future,
most believed that technology could help current students lead discussions and
engage in self-learning, while teachers guide and facilitate these processes. This
finding corresponds with those of Chan (2010), who studied East Asian teachers,
and Ottenbreit-Leftwich et al. (2010).
Almost all the participants in this study emphasised the changing role of the
teacher, as one who moves from being a knowledge provider to being a coach and
mentor. One teacher summed this well, stating:
Teaching will take on different forms. We will not just be disseminating
information in the traditional way and discussing tutorial questions in class. A
lot of this can happen online, and in the virtual world. Technology allows the
teacher-student relationship to transcend geographic and temporal boundaries.
And teachers will play more and more the role of a facilitator rather than teach
content. (#P11)
The participants believed in the fundamental, if evolving, role that teachers play in
the technology-infused classroom. Most, however, reported the need to think
through how best to organise the new classroom and facilitate ICT learning. Selwyn
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(2011) makes a similar observation on the need to engage with what he calls
critical perspectives on the use of emerging technologies in schools. The
teachers role may be evolving from instructor to mentor (Hsieh 2010). Yet teachers
in this research reported having to develop detailed lesson outlines, create structured
worksheets and clearly prescribe activity to accompany any ICT-mediated lesson in
order to achieve the prescribed lesson objectives. One teacher reflected:
I believe very strongly that when we ask students to listen to a podcast we
should give them a listening guide with questions that force them to think
about the topic. So it is not merely listening and then coming to class to
discuss. Its listening, and saying something sensible and reasonable. (#P13)
While Web 2.0 might help overcome some of the constraints imposed by traditional
classrooms, teachers still needed to confront the challenges that digital technologies
bring to the classroom. In their study, Sangra` and Gonzalez-Sanmamed (2010)
argue that teachers play a critical role in determining what, and how, to teach using
ICT. And the appropriate use of ICT is considered a key factor in improving
teaching quality. Nonetheless, their findings in different types of schools in Spain
demonstrate that new technology was used primarily to develop low-level teaching
strategies, suggesting teacher-centred classroom pedagogies and learning
approaches still prevailed. They found that teachers were less confident using
ICT to promote higher-order thinking and collaborative skills. Similarly, many of
the teachers in this study tended to view themselves as lagging behind their students
in seeing the potential of new learning technologies. They saw the challenge as
having to master a wide range of technological and social competences in order to
use technology in an interactive way to help students learn.
Proposition 2 While hoping to shape the future by exerting their influence on
curriculum development, teachers are at the same time confronted with external and
systemic constraints in designing and producing technology-rich materials in the
wider educational setting. With regard to technology integration, they generally
adopt a critical outlook and display cautious optimism. Teachers deliberatively
adapt new technologies and employ a variety of pedagogical strategies influenced
by the constraints imposed by time, as well as preparing and coaching students for
examinations.
An outcome of the research reported here is that the complex question of ICT
integration cannot be explained simply by focusing on any single factor. Rather,
teachers decisions to integrate technology into the curriculum were affected by
multiple factors and considerations. This finding concurs with those of Jacobson
et al. (2010) and Toh and So (2010). While analysis of data indicates that successful
use of ICT in education was often attributed to internal factors such as a teachers
educational philosophy, computer experience, and self-efficacy, external factors
such as access to new technologies, training and support also had a direct impact on
teachers ICT integration efforts. Tondeur et al. (2008a) and Tezci (2011) made
similar findings. The discussion in this section shifts the focus towards a broader
debate about systemic constraints and external obstacles teachers had to overcome
in order to apply ICT in their students learning.
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The systemic constraints include those that are often seen by a broader
population than the participants in this research as the key obstacles to ICT. All
teachers in this research reported that much more time was needed to prepare
lessons and monitor students using ICT. Additionally, within the present context,
some teachers saw their role only as coaching students for standardised assessment
requirements, while others reported a disconnect between using ICT tools and
preparing students for pen-and-paper examination format.
Time constraint
Time is often cited as a major factor that influences teachers decision to integrate
ICT (Divaharan and Lim 2010). Many teachers in this research voiced the common
opinion that ICT lessons took much longer to prepare than those using traditional
methods, at least until such time as they became ICT proficient or until the
application software became so easy and idiot proof that anybody can use it.
Specifically, teachers reported much frustration at the amount of time and resources
needed to design lesson plans and set up student-centred activities. All the teachers
described how learning software applications and conducting an ICT-based lesson
required time and effort, especially when the initiative was carried out for the first
time. Hrastinski (2009) makes a similar point. A teacher voiced what is a universal
view about time constraint in the following way:
Time is a huge constraint. To prepare all these resources we need a lot of time
learning the software, and using the gadgets. Apart from this, we need to
assess how good the tool is in helping us achieve our lesson objectives. For
now at least, ICT takes a lot more time, a lot more preparations, than simply
stepping into class and using the traditional teaching mode and methods.
(#P10)
In addition, searching for online resources invariably demanded additional time and
preparation. Similar findings by Dakich (2009) through qualitative research in two
Australian schools indicated that time pressure was a significant barrier to
successful ICT integration in those schools.
Teachers not only reported that ICT integration was a very time-consuming
process, they linked this with the issue of heavy workload due in part to an
achievement-oriented school culture and the need to complete a packed syllabus. A
similar point is also made by Hermans et al. (2008) and Lim and Chai (2008). It was
often the case that teachers designing technology-mediated lessons were doing so on
top of their current teaching workload. Because of the heavy workload, teachers
claimed that they had less time or motivation to adopt new teaching approaches in their
lessons. On a positive note, teachers conceded that one of the merits of using ICT was
that once they had produced the teaching package, the lessons were repeatable.
Coaching students for standardised assessment requirements
Apart from increased time spent preparing lessons and monitoring students, another
constraint in using technology related to the fact that a large amount of time was set
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aside for coaching students for high-stakes standardised tests and examinations. Lim
and Chai (2008) and Lee and Yin (2011) have made the same point.
A major feature of teachers assessment of constraints was that such constraints
tended to be based not only on the outcome of the teachers direct experience with
ICT integration in the classroom but also on the wider social context in which they
found themselves. Hannon (2009) agrees. Also, in an achievement-oriented society,
teachers were in agreement with Hargreaves (2009) that parents, school administrators and the community at large are fixated on producing good examination
results.
Many teachers reported that while additional support and resources were
provided for the Future School initiative, teachers were expected to ensure that
students continue to perform just as well as before in high-stakes national
examinations. It followed that a major preoccupation of teachers at the site of the
research undertaken for this thesis was whether educational technology could be
effective in improving students academic achievement. This scenario is summed up
well in the following teachers comment:
The use of podcasts and videos doesnt correlate well with good exam results.
I am just not sure that it is the fastest, most efficient, way to get good exam
results for my subject. And whether we like it or not, that is the concern of all
teachers. If we are obsessed with exam results, our teaching method defaults
back to (conservative) teaching practice. (#P18)
Overall, the research participants claimed that it took more time and effort to
prepare exploratory and student-centred lessons using technology. They also
reported that Singapore teachers, in general, tended to rely on more traditional ways
of teaching to cover the extensive syllabus.
Preparing students for pen-and-paper examination format
Besides allotting time to preparing students well for the national examinations,
many of the participants in this research cited the format of the examinations as a
stumbling block to more pervasive use of ICT in teaching. They claimed that
reconciling new forms of technology-mediated teaching with old examination
standards was difficult, and created tensions and raised questions as to which
direction teachers ought to be headed. Clarke-Midura and Dede (2010) have
contended that the field of assessment has not progressed much beyond paper-andpencil tests. Kirkwood and Price (2008) and Strijbos (2011) agree. They have shown
that assessment instruments and practices have not fully exploited the potential of
ICT, and that technology-aided testing is often viewed by teachers as problematic.
Teachers in the research reported that if teaching and lessons were geared
towards traditional pen-and-paper examinations, they would not be able to vary
their teaching methods, nor slow down their pace. For greater infusion of learning
technologies, teachers reported that there must be a tighter fit between the expressed
goals of the curriculum and the goals implicit in school and national assessments.
Redecker and Johannessen (2013) have argued that, despite the technological
challenges that exist, an urgent task is to go beyond the traditional assessment
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paradigm and develop ICT-enabled assessment strategies that foster the development of 21st-century skills. This is particularly salient in an exam-oriented society
such as Singapore, where teachers are ultimately accountable to both the students
and the school for producing good results.
Proposition 3 The rapid technological changes in todays knowledge economy
place new demands on teachers to develop ever higher levels of teaching quality
and these involve the use of ICT. In particular, teachers in a Future School have
little choice but to equip themselves to adapt to and adopt ICT in their teaching
practice. With the Internet providing greater flexibility of time and space, teachers
can also establish social networks and collaborate to develop ICT-enabled lessons.
Teachers attempts to keep pace with technology and collaborative strategies to
integrate ICT into their classroom practice are affected by such factors as mutual
trust and support, as well as shared interests.
The previous section presented and developed the three major processes and
associated strategies teachers used to keep pace with technology. These were
equipping, networking and collaborating. Generally, teachers with good knowledge
about technology claimed that it was obtained through hands-on experience. They
reported a proactive stance on the gathering of material, pedagogical approaches,
and technical knowhow. Many of the teachers in the research undertaken for this
thesis reported actively searching online for information and literature to obtain
first-hand insights into how other teachers integrated technology in the classroom.
The prime motivation for this was to evaluate ideas and follow or adapt them, where
appropriate, to add value to their teaching. There was recognition that this process
led to personal growth. Pynoo et al. (2012), at the end of a 2-year study, add the
point that those teachers who become more efficient in their search behaviour use
technology more frequently and effectively.
The challenges and opportunities that teachers confront are not only technological but also sociological (Lambropoulos et al. 2012). According to El-Bishouty
et al. (2010), social networks are helpful for teachers to solve problems by providing
both information and peer support. Many of the participants in the research claimed
that they needed practical advice and someone to show them what was available and
how to use ICT effectively in the classroom. Kop (2012:3) has argued that the
involvement of what he calls knowledgeable others can help teachers to make
sense of technology integration. Studies by Hsu et al. (2011) and Jang (2008) have
also corroborated that mutual trust supports collaborative learning among team
members, and facilitates knowledge exchange.
In this regard, collaboration was not confined to the school. Teachers in this
research often looked beyond the immediate teaching staff network and sought
assistance from external consultants and vendors. In a Finnish study that examined
the network structure of a teacher community, Ryymin et al. (2008) found that
teachers valued their own external networking relations, facilitated by technology,
which enabled them to maintain a high level of technical and pedagogical
competence. Often, the collaboration extends to virtual learning communities. For
most of the teachers in this study, one of the motivations for participating in online
communities was knowledge sharing. Here, Tsai (2012) and Yang et al. (2007)
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argued that the proliferation of virtual communities is one way in which teachers
cope with the increasing volume and complexity of knowledge. Conole and Culver
(2010), Kop (2012), Yang et al. (2007), and Yeh (2010) have found that social
networking sites can provide a dynamic environment for sharing and discussing new
teaching ideas. In a study on web-based professional development, Chen et al.
(2009a, b) found that online synchronous discussions served not only as an avenue
for teachers to gather information, but also for them to share common interests, as
well as to socialise and support each other.
Conclusion
Over the last 20 years, ICT has transformed the ways educators teach and students
learn across the globe (Fillion et al. 2009). And recent research on technology in
education has acknowledged the pivotal role teachers play in the classroom (Chen
2010; Hannon 2009; Selwyn 2007). Nevertheless, integrating technology into
classroom activities is a complex and demanding issue that at times places
considerable burden on schools and teachers (Gulbahar 2007). And the factors
affecting technology integration are more complicated than most researchers
initially assumed (Baek et al. 2008).
There is no doubt that ICT has the potential to enhance educational quality.
However, like all nascent offerings, the integration of new technologies in the
school curriculum creates both opportunities and challenges for the way educators
teach and students learn (Barber and Mourshed 2009). A salient issue which
mirrored an important concern of the teacher participants in this research, for
example, is that novel assessment modes and new work appraisal protocols are
needed to address 21st-century skills and knowledge and ICT can support the
development of these. Here, it seems that the current centralised curriculum and
existing assessment setups act as brakes on imaginative uses of technology in the
classroom.
Research into the role of teachers is also needed to inform initiatives and practice
in general for the use of new technology in education. Two potentially pivotal
factors that shape how teachers integrate technology into the classroom are
mentoring and the formation of a teacher-initiated community of practice
associated with subject teaching (Kopcha 2010). To the extent that role models
matter, the findings of my research suggest that teachers could engage in networks
amongst other teachers and rely on other teachers support and resources more
readily (see also Devolder et al. 2010). While it is widely acknowledged that
technology has made a difference in schools, it is a central tenet of this study that
teachers are the key to transforming education. And success or failure of using
technology in the classroom ultimately hinges on the willingness of teachers to step
into unchartered territory.
Acknowledgments The author would like to acknowledge the advice and support offered by Dr. Alan
Pritchard from the Western Australia Graduate School of Education, as well as helpful comments from
the editor and an anonymous referee.
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Melvyn H. Lim is the dean of Corporate Services at Hwa Chong Institution (Singapore), where he also
teaches H2 Knowledge & Inquiry. He holds degrees in Applied Linguistics, Economics, Education, and
Philosophy from the National University of Singapore and Western Australia Graduate School of
Education.
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Aust. Educ. Res.

How Singapore teachers in a pioneer School

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

The current study

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Theory of deliberative adaptation

distinct categories: acknowledging; adapting; appraising; and keeping pace. Each

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

evolving computer systems and software could be combined in an infinite number of

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

considerable pressure to cover much ground in a packed curriculum, and subject

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

installation and use of computers to facilitating changes and innovation in the

Category 4: keeping pace

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Propositions relating to understanding the categories and processes

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

Integrating ICT into the school curriculum

OECD (2010). Inspired by technology, driven by pedagogy: A systemic approach to technology-based

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