Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

problem solving; and learning to learn concepts. It proposes that the curriculum must be explicit in providing
guidance to all teachers. It also proposes that an ICT curriculum be developed as and suitable guidance for the use
of ICT in all other areas of the curriculum be established.
The Policy identifi es three aspects to the role of ICT in the curriculum:
apple Curriculum for ICT skills and knowledge, which is referred to as ICT Literacy Skills. It proposes that all learners
have basic ICT Literacy before they complete secondary education.
apple ICT as a Subject: This refers to the explicit study of ICT and includes Computer Studies and Information
Technology geared towards more advanced technical skill development.
apple Curriculum for the use of ICT within subjects other than ICT which is referred to as cross-curricula ICT. This
refers to the generalized use of ICT in all curriculum activities and that individual subject curriculum will also
be adjusted to refl ect the role of ICT in teaching the subject.
The Policy also proposes that curriculum change should be considered for pre-service training of teachers.
Furthermore, it identifi es content development as crucial and content software as integral to the teaching/learning
process and must be developed. Here, the Policy poses the option of either acquiring content when suitable
and cost effective; adapting content that is acquired or creating content when suitable and cost-effective. It also
specifi es the creation of local Namibian content wherever the need is perceived in subjects such as history, social
studies, geography, language and literature.
It also proposes to promote reliable information on a range of platforms including audio and video and relevant
websites; an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality of content; identifying sections of websites that can
be aligned to the curriculum and the identifi cation of priority areas for content development as well as suitable
agencies who can support local content creation is proposed.
A Digital Library is also proposed in order to provide educational materials to support the curriculum, the
administration, and the training of the education community. The digital library is envisaged as a channel for
education consumers to retrieve the knowledge needed and that content within the library will only come from
‘trusted’ and/or approved sources.
This suggests that the Policy focuses more on the integration of ICT in curriculum development and delivery and
less on the pedagogy of curriculum delivery. The Policy also expresses an openness to acquire and use content that
are produced elsewhere. Here, the emphasis appears to be on the suitability of content. It is assumed that this
suitability refers to the extent to which the digital education content is aligned to the curriculum. The notion of
“suitable content” is not spelt out in the Policy.
Teacher Development
The Policy refers to “staff training,” which encompasses the development of teachers, lecturers, principals,
administrative staff and other stakeholders who would require varying levels of training to integrate the use of
ICT in their practice. It calls for pre-service and in-service training targeted mainly at teachers who are required
to have confi dence in using ICT including communication via email, understanding the value of integrating ICT in
learning and teaching. Similarly, what is referred to as “pre-service lecturers,” principals, advisors and inspectors
and administrators are required to develop their confi dence in the use of ICT and preferably work towards an ICT
qualifi cation. The use of ICT in conceptualized as an ability to search for, retrieve, prepare, and present materials
using a computer; communication via email and an understanding of management and administrative ICT systems.
Included too is a suggestion that the value of ICT within various work contexts of these stakeholders need to be
understood.
Case Study: Namibia | 79