Using Actor Network Theory to Understand ICT Integration in Secondary Schools: A Case of Mozambican Schools

Introduction

ICT integration in the education system has been under review globally for many years. There is a need for the improvement of technological pedagogical activities in the sector, particularly in developing countries. It is believed that in order to enhance the quality of education, ICT should play a major role in the education system. However, the success of ICT integration into education is characterized by constraints which are amplified in developing countries.

Studies (for example, Tay, Lim, and Lim, 2013) have highlighted a number of factors that constrain the effective use of ICT in education, for example, technological infrastructure, and teachers’ beliefs and practices, have emerged as the most challenging factors in integrating ICT into schools. Costs related to factors such as acquisition and maintenance of ICT infrastructures, and teachers’ skills and leadership are additional challenges constraining the adoption and integration of technology into public secondary schools in Kenya (Mingaine, 2013). Furthermore, the use of appropriate policies to support the use of ICT in the schools cannot be ignored in the implementation of ICT into the education system (UNESCO, 2015). A plethora of studies has been published regarding the use of ICTs in education, globally, including studies undertaken in sub-Saharan countries. Some of these studies have addressed factors affecting the acceptance and effective usage of technology in academic activities. It has been noted that integration of ICT into education has been successful in varying degrees. Although much research has been conducted in the domain of ICT implementation in several developing countries, it is still difficult to find studies conducted within the Mozambican context. To understand why Mozambican schools are still lagging behind in the use of ICT in education gives this study impetus to focus on the socio-technical aspects of ICT integration ─ understanding the use and acceptance of the technology in secondary schools. The socio-technical perspective is used to understand the interdependent relationship between social and technical actors in a given context.

The aim of this study, therefore, was to understand the implementation of ICT in secondary schools, underpinned by Actor Network Theory (ANT) for tracing ICT integration activities. Hence, the research question is framed according to the socio-technical aspect of technology using Actor Network Theory (ANT).

The paper is organized as follows: first, a review of related literature is provided, while the next section describes the methodology, followed by the analysis and discussion of the interviews and observations based on the ANT framework. Finally, the paper concludes with a review of the most important findings.

Literature Review

There are two characteristics of the socio-technical approach. The first relates to the interconnected association between technology and social aspects of an organization. The second characteristic reveals the importance of worker involvement in the design, development, and deployment of a particular technology. The socio-technical approach has been applied by researchers in various domains in the field of Information Systems (IS) (Ghaffarian, 2011). The connection between IS development, its usage, and the interactions resulting from social settings and organizational changes are outlined in socio-technical approach studies. In other words, the socio-technical approach recognizes the interaction between people and technology, as well as the correlation between social infrastructures and human behaviour in a given workplace.

Viewing the implementation of technology in the education system from a socio-technical perspective helps to understand the school environment, infrastructure, socio-cultural and political aspects, and teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and feelings that shape effective technology integration into a school (Fenwick & Edwards, 2013). Given the premise that technology is socially constructed, it being situated and acting within a given social environment, it affects its implementation. This point is shared by Sawyer and Jarrahi (2014), who underlined the socio-technical principles as follows: