Online professional development as a lever for teacher empowerment: ICT integration and self-directed learning in under-resourced South African schools

In South African schools, the implementation and integration of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) remain a challenge especially in under-resourced marginalized communities. In this study weinvestigated how online professional development focused on ICT integration and self-directed learningdevelopment can empower teachers from marginalized communities. We implemented a qualitative case studydesign informed by the constructivist-interpretivist paradigm. Six teachers (n=6) from three no-fee publicschools in a rural area in South Africa were purposively selected. Data were collected through semi-structuredinterviews which was followed by thematic data analysis. Findings revealed that infrastructure and internetconnectivity challenges, institutional support and socio-economic factors make participation in onlineprofessional development challenging for these teachers. What we did however also find was that teachers inthis study had a positive disposition toward ICT integration and self-directed learning promoted by onlineprofessional development. We thus derive that online professional development, when supported byinfrastructure and institution support, can be used as a lever to empower teachers from under-resourcedschools.