Tembrevilla, G. G. (2020). Examining ICT and FoK integration in rural public junior high schools with the Philippines’ new K-12 curriculum : A case study [Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia]. UBC Theses and Dissertations. https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0392683

Abstract:

“This is a nested, descriptive, and interpretative case study on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in science education in select rural public junior high schools in the Philippines. Using mixed methods, the study investigated key challenges faced by science teachers as they integrate ICT in their classes viewed through the lenses of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) and funds of knowledge (FoK). In-depth quantitative and qualitative analyses were drawn on teachers’ online questionnaires, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, fieldnotes, and observations and reflections on science video-creation workshops. Three overarching findings emerged from the data analyses: TPACK as a foundational professional development enabler; FoK as a bridge to enhance teachers’ TPACK; and the successful implementations of ICT-centred science curriculum and pedagogy as policy- and governance-dependent. These findings described the contained experiences of science teachers as enablers of innovative rural science teaching practices. The study documented how science teachers overcome functional fixedness of educational technology. This, in turn, allowed them to identify the affordances and constraints of such technology. In rural schools where the shortage of educational resources is a perennial problem, prevailing over a state of functional fixedness related to a technology’s particular function and exploring different and more creative ways to use such technology was a highly welcome educational technology crossover. Moreover, this study recorded a positive expansion of science teachers’ TPACK. The expansion was brought about not only by a change in any of the TPACK’s components but by the use of technology along with students’ FoK through science video-creation. This study contributes to our understanding of teaching science with ICT and FoK in rural public high schools. Moreover, it underscores areas for consideration in developing countries with similar circumstances such as the Philippines regarding: (a) centering ICT investments on teachers and teaching; (b) clarifying ICT policies’ terms of implementation, noting that different definitions lead to different policy investments and recommendations; (c) introducing science video-creation as a professional development program for teachers in rural public schools; and (d) recognizing rural public schools and their teachers as places and people of innovation and alternatives of pedagogical effectiveness.”