Negotiating the dimensions of the digital divide: A phenomenological study of Jordanian pre-service teachers' experiences with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) access.

摘要

This qualitative phenomenological research study was designed to explore and learn how six pre-service teachers, studying at one of the Jordanian universities in the capital of Amman, identify, experience, and negotiate the barriers to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) access in their schooling experiences. The process of collecting data included two open phenomenological individual face-to-face interviews and a focus group meeting. The participants of this research study shared their own lived experiences regarding the barriers to ICT access. In addition, they suggested and negotiated possibilities to decrease the barriers to ICT access based on their schooling experience. Relevant categories and themes emerged from the analysis of collected data. The data revealed the lack of meaningful opportunities and adequate access to utilize ICT tools effectively in pre-service teachers' learning settings. The lack of adequate access constituted the numerous obstacles resulting in the digital divide or gap, and this gap had a truly adverse consequence on their education. That is, groups such as the pre-service teachers in this Jordanian university were disenfranchised by the digital gap due to several factors which limited their opportunity to access ICT and its usage.;This study revealed that Jordanian pre-service teachers had a limited access to ICT tools in their public schools and before enrolling at the university. During their studies at the university these Jordanian pre-service teachers experienced several barriers: 1) the lack of ICT tools, 2) the lack of ICT skills, 3) the negative impact of social customs, religious beliefs, and gender norms on ICT access, 4) the negative impact of non proficiency in English language skills on ICT access, 5) the lack of ICT accommodations provided for college students with disabilities, 6) the lack of using ICT for educational purposes, 7) the lack of encouragement to access ICT.