Can ICT Reduce Drop-Out Rates Among New Teachers? A Qualitative Study in Canadian Student Teachers

A paradox has arisen in the literature on information and communication technologies (ICT) appropriation by teachers during their internship and professional induction. On the one hand, some studies show that, at the completion of their basic training, new teachers have a good grounding in technology skills (Clausen 2007; Karsenti et al. 2007), feel fairly confident about using ICT (Moore and Chae 2007; Slaouti and Barton 2007; Russell et al. 2003), and use ICT regularly in their personal life and professional practice, albeit mainly for lesson planning (Clausen 2007; Karsenti et al. 2007; Slaouti and Barton 2007). On the other hand, studies show that new teachers hold more negative beliefs about how ICT impact students than more experienced teachers do (Russell et al. 2003). They also show little ability to integrate ICT pedagogically and a low tendency to introduce them into the classroom (Karsenti et al. 2007). Here again, there is a significant difference from experienced teachers (Russell et al. 2003). This finding is all the more surprising in light of the fact that new teachers have been trained according to a socioconstructivist vision of learning, as defined by the ministry of education in Quebec, Canada (Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MEQ) 2001a, b). According to some authors, teachers who adhere to this approach should be in favor of the pedagogical integration of ICT (Becker 2001; Ravitz et al. 2000). They would also be expected to turn to their peers to help them learn how to do this. However, this is apparently not happening. In fact, the recent research has shown that, in addition to being somewhat reluctant to integrate ICT pedagogically, new teachers are also slow to use ICT for their professional development and to seek support when they need it (Moore and Chae 2007;