Eritrean Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of and Proficiency with TPACK and ICT Integration in Education

This research was set out to explore and analyze the status of integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into teacher education and development programs in the context of a developing country, Eritrea. It based its investigation on the requirements of teacher professionalism in contemporary learning environments, where teachers are expected to develop the required proficiency for effectively integrating technology, pedagogy and content knowledge into their teaching so as to meet the educational needs of 21st century learners. In doing so, the research undertook this study by investigating pre-service teachers' perceptions and proficiency of ICT integration in education from the perspective of Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK). Results from analysis of pre-service teachers' basic ICT skills, attitudes towards ICT, competencies in ICT, perceptions on ICT for teaching and learning, revealed that they possess satisfactory levels of strengths in these areas of technological knowledge and skills. On the other hand, results from analysis of pre-service teachers' experiences and purpose of using ICT and ICT related support received from their institutions and teacher-educators indicate low level of readiness in integrating technology into teaching and learning. These results indicate that teacher educators and teacher education institutions have lagged behind in providing the required support, clearly revealing a gap between the educational needs of the 21st century generation of pre-service teachers and the educational provision of teacher education programs. This calls for a systemic approach to the process of integrating ICTs into teacher education and development programs in Eritrea.