Technophobic teachers avoid using computers in lessons because they do not feel confident enough using them in front of pupils, according to a study from Hull university.
It said that while the Government had stressed the importance of ICT in enhancing education, teachers were not getting enough of the right kind of training, resulting in a skills shortage.
The report in the British Journal of Sociology of Education, said the Government’s emphasis on market forces and league tables was driving schools “away from needs-based action and towards quick-fix solutions.
“The consequence is that teachers are not receiving the support they need in order to be able to support young people and provide them with a relevant, postmodern education that embraces tech-nology.”
Author Liz Beastall said that while pupils were growing up surrounded by computers, schools did not acknowledge this, instead “delivering a fixed education within a narrow curriculum”.
Ms Beastall said pupils were increasingly disillusioned as a result, and recommended more support and training for teachers to enable them to keep up with advances in technology.
“Teachers are not only frustrated by their lack of ability within ICT and e-learning, but are also being restrained by a lack of strategically embedded, pedagogical support designed to encourage and support the process of change.”
To obtain a copy of the report, Enchanting a disenchanted child: revolutionising the means of education using information and communications technology and e-learning, go to www.tandf.co.ukjournals
