South African pre-service teachers’ preparedness for fourth industrial revolution teaching and learning

The study’s main aim is to explore the preparedness of a sampled group of South African pre-service teachers at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) to teach adequately in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4iR) classroom. The study employed a case study research design to ascertain the level of preparedness of pre-service teachers (n = 22) to use ICT tools for 4iR teaching and learning, using participant observation and focus group interviews. The Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework guided the research study in creating themes and analysing the data collected. The findings confirm that various aspects hindered the pre-service teachers from successfully implementing ICT tools in the 4iR classroom: school culture, inadequate computer infrastructure, and the need for the teacher education curriculum to be attuned to the 4iR teaching and learning. The study has thus significant implications on policy and practice in similar educational contexts around the need to develop appropriate intervention strategies towards advancing pre-service teachers’ skills related to 4iR.