Using zone frameworks to conceptualize changes to ICT practices in Australian schools

Bate, F. and Maor, D. (2009) Using zone frameworks to conceptualize changes to ICT practices in Australian schools. In: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2009, 13 - 17 April 2009, San Diego, CA.

Abstract

This paper explores the findings from an Australian study that examined the way in which 35 beginning teachers (2006 graduates) used information and communications technologies (ICT) in their first two years of teaching. Through a mixed method approach, the research reveals insights into the factors that shape ICT use amongst beginning teachers from K-12. The interplay between these factors, extrinsic and intrinsic to teachers, is complex and the paper builds upon the zone frameworks developed by Valsiner (1997) and Goos (2005) that help to explain action and inertia in school settings. It is suggested that zone frameworks provide a useful lens in which to conceptualize ICT as an agent of change in the schools sector.