European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1002145 Volume 3 │Issue 10 │2017 TEACHER EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: TRANSFORMING TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN LEARNING Harriet Wambui Njuii Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract: This paper reviews literature on the role of technology integration in education and illustrates how integration of technology in learning could transform teacher education by equipping teacher trainees with the skills that enable them to transform learners into empowered and ethical citizens who effectively contribute to sustainable development. Technology integration in education is crucial because the youth today are growing in an environment where they are interacting with various forms of technology and their operations. Integrating technology in their learning is therefore likely to offer them motivation and curiosity to learn as the learning is in the context of their daily experience, thus meaningful. The review is done with a view to making recommendations on how teacher training institutions could support curriculum delivery with mobile technologies in order to set the pace for other learning institutions on the need to provide learners with holistic quality education that meets the needs of today’s dynamic global society. Integration is critical because technology is the major key driver of the 21st century skills (including communication, critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving and innovation), which has revolutionized education, making it accessible anytime and at any place. This paper will focus on the benefits accrued by employing technology to shift teaching from the formal education knowledge production model to a more engaging and collaborative model that is competence based. It is hoped that this review will shed light on the need to reform teacher training curricula content and scope, objectives, teaching methods and resources to ensure that the programme produces teachers who are well equipped with skill that enable them to effectively develop learners with skills that enhance their contribution to the development agenda of the society. Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 228 Harriet Wambui Njui TEACHER EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: TRANSFORMING TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN LEARNING Keywords: technology integration, skill-based education, formal education model, 21st century skills 1. Introduction Education is regarded as the driving force behind development in a society. Through the knowledge and skills learned in school, individuals are enabled to work in the modern and informal wage sectors. Thus, adequate levels of general education have a positive influence in health and agricultural productivity. Education therefore encourages more efficient production of goods and services. In this respect, schools play a significant role in training entrepreneurs (Sifuna, Chege & Oanda, 2006). To this end, teachers are the key drivers of economic development of a nation. Kafu (2015) adds his voice to the discussion noting that teacher education programme is a critical component of education which determines the rate and level of development in any society. This is so because the programme focuses on preparation and production of school teachers whose main role is to transform a society with relevant competencies for development. Also, Lucas (1972) asserts that teacher education is the main pillar of any established system of education and the custodian of the society’s culture. This view is supported by Kenya’s Sessional Paper No. 6 of in its statement, there is urgent need to develop and promote teacher education programmes if the administration of education in the country is to succeed and national development is to be accelerated . “chievement of sustainable development by the year is pegged on education’s significant role of developing learners with relevant skills to help them contribute to the economic development of their society. Teachers are the most important factor in achieving this goal because they are mainly responsible for the implementation of the educational process at any stage. However, their success in this endeavor demands a huge investment in teacher preparation so that the future of a nation is secure (www.archive.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/ma%20edu/Teacher%20Education%20-%20IV.pdf). Such investments include reforms in pre-service and in-service training to ensure that teachers are facilitated with holistic quality training. They should also be offered regular staff development programmes to keep them abreast with new developments in education to continually empower them with knowledge and skills that enable them to offer education that is relevant to the needs of the society. The notion that education is the key to development shows the significant role of teacher education in the survival of any society. On this reason, many countries including Kenya have a higher investment in education than in any other Ministry (Kafu, 2011). However, despite the pivotal role European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 229 Harriet Wambui Njui TEACHER EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: TRANSFORMING TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN LEARNING that teachers play in the development of a nation, they continue to receive a raw deal in their training due to the numerous challenges that have riddled teacher education in Kenya. Such challenges include irrelevant and outmoded curricula, meagre resources and outstretched facilities as a result of expansion that has attracted huge numbers, unmanageable student-teacher ratios that influence teachers to entrench the outmoded transmission model of education , lack of qualified trainers as most tutors have not had a practical experience in teaching the levels for which they train teachers (thus have no practical base), and lack of reforms in curricula content despite the major changes that have resulted from the growth of technology (Challenges and remedy of Teacher education. www.globalscienceresearchjournals.org/gjses/110320171477.pdf). These and other challenges seem to imply that the education offered in teacher training institutions is not relevant to the needs of today’s society. This scenario has far reaching implications in education. For instance, teachers can only deliver education to learners the way they were taught. To this end, they perpetuate the use of the elitist model of education whose intellectual focus only benefits a few learners with academic inclination while the majority others are dismissed as failures. The model also neglects the development of gifts and talents of learners who are not intellectually inclined. Thus, it denies them their right to education. Modern trends in education emphasize the need to employ modern pedagogical practices in curriculum delivery to ensure that individual learners are enabled to realize their full potential in education cognizant of their abilities, interests and talents. In line with this, Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education). The goal reflects a global education landscape that emphasizes the need to develop learners with skills that transform them to be innovators, problem solvers, critical thinkers and ethical citizens (Basic Education Curriculum Framework, 2017). Developing teachers with such skills demands reforms in curricula, teaching methods and resources (to include mobile technologies). Such reforms are critical if teacher trainees are to be effectively equipped for their teaching assignments which require them to develop learners with skills that will enable them to contribute to the development of the society. For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1083 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 230