Pourquoi les professeurs ouest-africains s’approprient-ils l’internet?

Abstract

Why do teachers of higher education in West Africa appropriate information and communications tech- nology (ICT)? This question is addressed through a sociocultural interpretation of ICT itineraries of six professors. The results show the active and pro- gressive integration of ICT in teaching, for exam- ple via online courses and remote interaction with students. They also reveal deeper aspirations such as enhanced African participation in scholarly pro- duction and the transformation of human relations and culture. In the process of appropriation, teach- ers question their pedagogical approaches, cross the boundaries between different worlds and tradi- tions of knowledge, and propose new approaches to learning, knowledge production and the con- struction of African identities. These contextual- ized results are in addition to those on the use of ICT in higher education and provide an epistemo- logical basis for the integration of ICT in education in Africa.