A Research Approach to Information Technology Development in Initial Teacher Education

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the main ideas arising from the preliminary research and development work carried out by the Initial Teacher Education and New Technology project (INTENT) in the United Kingdom (UK). The opening two sections provide a rationale for integrating research with development in this field and describe the project's structure and aims (see also INTENT, 1992). The main body of the paper explores a number of issues including: possible management structures for supporting information technology development; strategies for leading the professional development of colleagues; and the resource implications of a project such as INTENT. The final section explores some questions of broader concern, such as: the possibility of teaching transferable skills for approaching technology; the need to take account of the diversities of ‘culture’ which exist in initial teacher education institutions; and the dilemma posed by the importance of subjecting information technology to critical appraisal while working within a national framework of mandatory criteria for initial teachers’ information technology competence.