376-Book manuscript-7583-1-10-20230228 (2)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the praxis of critical digital pedagogic (CDP) practices in initial teacher education (ITE). The research problem that I investigated focussed on ITE educators being impeded when modelling critical and emancipatory practice while integrating educational technology (edtech) in online learning and teaching (L&T) practices. Educators possessed insufficient knowledge and skills required to create collaborative, interactive and student-centred learning environments. The basic design of the study drew on data collected through the initial phase of an empirical study at the Wits School of Education (WSoE) involving the use of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) information and communications technology (ICT) Competency Framework for Teachers (CFT) as a survey and semi-structured interviews. The results of the analysis indicated that most of the educators had a partial understanding of critical pedagogy (CP) even though some ITE educators attempted to engage in a certain aspect of CP, like mediating for co-creation of knowledge and acknowledging that technology offered a means to student-centred teaching instead of merely transmitting knowledge to students. Initial teacher education educators’ digital skills were at a basic digital competency level. The data indicated that there was an institution-wide limitation around training, technical support, infrastructure, and time. This affected the comprehension, understanding and implementation of ICT policies and standards and how ITE educators integrated these in overarching educational environments. Without embedding the basics in place, institutions cannot expect more than standard classroom skill sets, with an intermediate understanding on online L&T practices. The focus should not only be on the educators need, but also on the facilitation of effective learning environments for students. In this way, an environment would be created that motivated continuous professional learning for academics as a collective and augmented innovation for critical consciousness.