The Impact of an Empowerment Evaluation Approach on Teachers’ TPACK-P Proficiency Levels

In South Africa, there is a strong recognition of the affordances of information and communications technology (ICT) in science teaching and learning. A key indicator for the effective use of ICT is the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of teachers with TPACK-Practical (TPACK-P) being an important iteration related to teacher enactment of this knowledge. The purpose of this research study was to capture, portray and develop the TPACK-P proficiency levels of five Physical Sciences teachers using an empowerment evaluation (EE) approach. This study adopted a mixed-methods case study design within a pragmatic research paradigm. The existing TPACK-P levels of teachers were established by administering a questionnaire and doing classroom observations of teachers using ICT in their practice. Following a professional development programme informed by principles of EE, the same TPACK-P questionnaire was used to determine if there was a change in the teachers’ TPACK-P proficiency levels. Classroom lesson observations were also conducted at this stage to establish shifts in the competency of teachers when integrating ICT into their teaching. The results of this study showed that the EE approach that guided the professional development of the Physical Sciences teachers was effective in improving their TPACK-P proficiency levels and in empowering them to be more confident and competent when integrating ICT into their teaching. This suggests that the EE approach can be modelled in professional development efforts involving small groups of teachers.