Internet use: A Study of Preservice Education Students in Lesotho and Canada

How much do students take advantage of the wealth of information the Internet provides? In a cross-cultural study we discovered that students in teacher education faculties in Canada and Lesotho have similar patterns of Internet use but they do not use the Internet to explore the broader world and learn about alternative ways of thinking. Outside of school or work, their use of the worldwide Internet is extremely limited. This study surveyed over 200 pre-service teachers from Lesotho and Canada on their Internet use and found that the vast majority of them stay within their social circles and comfort zones. This implies that our prospective teachers are learning very little about diverse points of view about the world or even about local issues. The implication is that colleges of education need to help their students move beyond their daily Internet routines to find out more about alternative points of view.