Social Capital and Internet Usage of Rural Guatemalan Teachers : Participatory Rural Appraisal Interviews and Group Assessments to Enhance Community-Driven Development for Online Teacher Education

ISBN-13: 9783639124750 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 240 str.

Douglas Tedford

Opis

This qualitative study examined Internet usage by Guatemalan English teachers in the rural, indigenous community of San Lucas Toliman, to improve enrollments and persistence in online teacher professional development programs promoted by the Fundación Rigoberta Menchú Tum in collaboration with the researcher. Woolcock s concepts of bonding, bridging and linking social capital were united with Rogers s theories of diffusion and perceived attributes to ascertain why only 5 of 34 teachers completed free online coursework. Principles of the Participatory Rural Appraisal were used to interview 20 of the teachers and to interpret outcomes in a community meeting. Findings included a high interest in engaging the Internet and concerns about work commitments, connectivity options, and family time demands. This study has positive social change implications by demonstrating how organizations can promote community-driven research collaborations to facilitate online teacher education in San Lucas Toliman, and could be replicated in other remote sectors of the developing world.

O autorze

is a graduate of USC and Walden University. This study was
motivated by service experiences in rural Guatemala and by
involvement, since 1988, in Spanish-bilingual classroom
teaching, teacher training, online mentoring, adult literacy,
and educational product development, with supervision in Mexico
and Central America.