Challenges of ICT Integration in Teachers’ Education: A Case Study of the College of Education, University of Liberia
Innovation in education does not simply change teaching yet, in addition, the learning structures. The readiness of students in the present day necessitates that educators integrate ICTs into scholarly activities which will additionally place learners in the situation for the twenty-first-century arrangements. It encourages students to participate and facilitates their learning. It is necessary to include ICT in teachers’ training programs because it adds quality to the program and motivates the preservice teachers to use ICT. The research was conducted at the College of Education, the most elevated teacher training institution in Liberia. The study was planned to explore the difficulties of ICT integration in teachers’ education, prescribe schemes to reduce the difficulties, and lastly strengthen the overall integration process. The mixed method was used in this study, with 27 respondents completing the survey and interview questionnaires. The data was gathered using closed-ended questionnaires for the teachers and open-ended questionnaires for administrators. The study utilized both descriptive statistics and thematic data analysis approach to analyze the data. The study results identify the lack of ICT infrastructures and equipment, such as computers, institutional internet facility, projectors, etc., lack of support for teachers, inadequate experience in teaching with ICT, and inadequate ICT training, as major challenges hindering ICT incorporation in teachers’ education. Therefore, teacher training programs/ institutions should be adequately equipped with ICT infrastructures which are essential for the teacher’s empowerment to apply ICT in training. Recommendations were made to include ICT as a center subject in the curriculum of teachers’ colleges in Liberia since it is a huge factor in Liberia’s vision 2030.