The problems of teacher’s professional development in ICT context: an andragogical view

Abstract

The theoretical rationale for the paper entitled The problems of teacher’s professional development in ICT context: an andragogical view, by Kristinka Ovesni and Vera Radović, found in reflections of conceptions that view teachers’ professional development (TPD) in information communication technology context as an alternative to the traditional process of TPD. A shift from traditional to ICT contexts opens many issues in design, organization, performance, and evaluation of the process of TPD. Accordingly, the aim of this research is to explore some features and to identify potential issues in teacher’s usage of and participation in different professional development activities in ICT context. For this purpose, the authors adopted quantitative descriptive methodology. The research was performed online, from August to October 2020, on the population of teachers employed in primary schools in Republic of Serbia. From data collected from purposeful sample (N=354), using canonical correlation analysis, authors distinguished some features of TPD in the ICT context (broadening knowledge, peer support, time and cost efficiency, availability of resources, enjoyment in activities), tightly connected to transformative, self–directed nature of teachers as adult learners, to changed locus of control of learning, and specific TPD in ICT context related issues (experience of alienation and cyber–bulling, lack of direct communication with moderators, to feel overwhelmed by information).