ICT Teachers' Assigned Roles and Expectations from Them

Abstract The aim of this study was to provide a better understanding of ICT teachers' assigned position and to determine school administrators' and other teachers' perceptions towards ICT teachers and these teachers' positions, and to reveal the similar and discrepant aspects of their tertiary education and the roles (work and responsibilities) assigned to them in schools. For this purpose, a qualitative case study research design was used. The study was conducted within three phases. In the first phase, focus group interview with 2 faculty members at department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies and 6 ICT teachers, in the second phase, a pilot study encompassing an interview with 2 teachers from other branches and 1 school administrators, and finally faceto -face interviews with 33 participants, 10 of whom were school administrators, 11 of whom were ICT teachers, 12 of whom were teachers from other branches. The data obtained were analyzed using content analysis, and the findings showed that ICT teachers undertook many roles in their schools apart from the assigned positions determined by MoNE. The fundamental reason for this appeared that ICT teachers were perceived as an expert, a technical staff or a personnel who knows everything about ICT. Further, there occurred some differences and ambiguities between the education they took and the assigned roles and due to these ambiguities that even the ICT teachers could hardly define their assigned roles in schools was observed. Key Words Roles of ICT Teachers, The Expectations from ICT Teachers, Schools Administrators' and Teachers' Perceptions, ICT Course, CEIT. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) influence all aspects of life rapidly transmitting technological developments to daily life and providing fast information accessibility (Karasar, 2004; Seferoglu & Soylu, 2007). One of them affected by these developments is educational systems (Akkoyunlu, 1996; Goktas, Yildirim, & Yildirim, 2008a, 2008b). Therefore, use of ICT in education is an important issue to be highlighted (Seferoglu, 2007). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), thus, has emphasized that active use of ICT in every phase of educational activities is acknowledged as both a necessity and an opportunity (UNESCO, 2009). Turkey has launched several initiatives to adapt the changes and development in the use of ICT in education. Thus, a comprehensive education law to enhance the quality of education was effected by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1997 (Dunya Bankasi [DB], 2009). Through this law the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) launched the first phase of the Fundamental Education Project (FEP) in 1998. Within this project, students and teachers were attempted to have ICT literacy throughout the education process. For this purpose, the course of "Computer" took place in the primary education curriculum as one of the compulsory courses (Egitim Teknolojileri Genel Mudurlugu [EGITEK], 2001). Therefore, ICT classrooms have been launched and schools have been equipped with ICT devices (DB, 1998; Milli Egitim Bakanligi [MEB], 2009; Tebligler Dergisi [TD], 1998). However, the course was changed as an elective course and through the decision of Head Council of Education and Morality (HCoEM), the name of the course was renamed as "ICT" in 2006 (MEB, 2007a; Talim Terbiye Kurulu [TTK], 2006). Since the course of computer was included in the primary education curriculum, teachers have been needed to give the ICT literacy to students, therefore; Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) departments were launched in education faculties (Yuksek Ogretim Kurulu [YOK], 1998). The graduates of this department work as ICT teachers in primary schools. Together with the use of ICT classrooms in primary schools, maintenance and repair staffs have been needed as well. For this purpose, MoNE has stated that teachers who have taken in-service training from different branches may be employed as ICT formator teachers (MEB 2007b; Seferoglu, 2009; TD, 1993). …