Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences on the Use of WhatsApp as a Learning Tool

Research has been conducted on the effectiveness of using WhatsApp for teaching and learning; however, few scholars have addressed pre-service teachers’ experiences in early childhood education in developing countries such as South Africa. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore pre-service teachers’ experiences of using WhatsApp as an instructional aid in an early childhood education program. The study is grounded in TPACK which emphasizes the importance of integration of technology into the learning of specific subjects such as those subjects in early childhood education. Research questions focused on participants’ uses, benefits, and challenges of integrating WhatsApp as a learning tool. A purposeful sampling method was used to select eight (8) final-year pre-service teachers who have been enrolled in the early childhood education program. The study used semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The researchers collected the frequency of posts to assess the level of participation. Interviews were transcribed, and the data were coded to identify patterns and major themes. The results revealed that pre-service teachers had a positive experience with the use of WhatsApp as an academic tool for sharing learning material and as a communication tool as well as a collaboration tool. Participants also identified challenges to learning using WhatsApp such as the cost of data, connectivity, and load-shedding. Therefore, the paper proposes the use of WhatsApp in teacher education programs to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Furthermore, the pre-service teachers were provided with explicit guidelines for engagement that encompassed several subjects and delineated the criteria for an approved contribution.