Abstract:

The transformation of agricultural programmes requires Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers to use innovative strategies to integrate technology into their teaching. Currently, most training programmes have shifted from traditional methods of teaching to technology integration; hence, strategies for training with technologies are required. In this study, 20 lecturers from three TVET college campuses were interviewed and afterwards observed while teaching. The ultimate purpose of this study was to identify the strategies that lecturers employed in order to propose innovative strategies for integrating technologies into agricultural programmes. In this qualitative study, the research participants were purposefully and conveniently sampled based on their experience in agriculture. Data were thematically analysed and presented using categories: the exploration of technology integration; experimentation with technology integration; adoption of technology integration; and advanced technology integration adopted from the Kotrlik-Redmann (2003) framework. The findings suggest that innovative strategies, including proactive, improvising, developmental, and seeking assistance strategies, can be used to integrate technologies. These strategies may be combined with those proposed in each category of the study's framework. This study recommends that TVET colleges offering agricultural programmes, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and other key stakeholders implement innovative strategies to help in the complete integration of technology.

Keywords:

Transformation, Innovative Strategies, Training, Agricultural programmes, TVET colleges.