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The use of instructional technologies has an impact on students' content acquisition and adds to class performance (Baylor and Ritchie, 2002). However, Beggs (2000) notes that research has shown that it is not only the technology that is important, but also how it is used that improves learning and increases pupils' interest. In view of this, since not much was known about the use of technologies in teacher training colleges in Malawi, this study was designed to establish how instructional technologies were used by tutors in those colleges. The technologies studied were chalkboards, flip charts, overhead projectors, videos, computers, and local resources from the environment. The research questions were (a) How often did tutors use instructional technologies in their teaching? (b)What reasons did tutors have for using and not using instructional technologies in their teaching? (c)How did college tutors perceive their competence levels in using instructional technologies? (d)What attitudes did the college tutors have towards the use of instructional technologies? (e)What did tutors consider important factors in influencing their use of instructional technologies? The sample consisted of tutors from Karonga, Lilongwe, St. Joseph's, Blantyre, and Montfort Teacher Training Colleges, who completed a survey designed to address the research questions. In addition to the tutors, a snapshot study was conducted with faculty at Domasi College of Education to establish how use of computer technology was established and sustained and what lessons could be learned that could assist the teacher training colleges as they encourage computer use among their tutors. The results of the survey that was conducted with the tutors revealed that there was infrequent use of higher order instructional technologies i.e. overhead projectors, videos, and computers, which was attributed to lack of training, unavailability of the technologies, and lack of maintenance. The failure to use the locally available resources by some of the tutors was attributed to lack of creative thinking as well as lack of initiative to use the local environment in their teaching. Constant training and peer support on how to use the instructional technologies are some of the lessons to be learned from Domasi College of Education. The study concludes with a suggested process for how government and the teacher training institutions can work collaboratively to maximize the use of instructional technologies in the teaching and learning process for prospective teachers. Several possibilities for further research on the use of instructional technologies have been highlighted. / Ph. D.

Previous research has explored whether method of childbirth, such as home birth, hospital birth, or cesarean section, influences a woman's birth experience (Felming, Ruble, Anderson, & Flett, 1988). However, the influence of the child birth method on social perceptions of the mothers has yet to be explored. Social support for new mothers is an important factor in promoting postpartum adjustment (Collins, Dunkel Schetter, Lobel & Scrimshaw, 1993; Demyttenaere, Lenaerts, Nijs & Van Assche, 1995; Landy, Montgomery & Walsh, 1989). Yet it is possible that the amount of social support a new mother receives is affected by unseen biases regarding the method of childbirth. The current study explores whether mothers more negatively view other mothers who had a method of childbirth different from their own preferred method of childbirth. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three vignettes describing a new mother. One version describes a mother who had a hospital birth with an epidural, one describes a mother who had a home birth with a midwife, and one describes a mother who had a non-emergency scheduled cesarean section. Participants completed the Interpersonal Adjective Scale (IAS) and a Perception of Character Scale to assess their perceptions of the mother. Participants who preferred to have a home birth showed a high degree of variation in their ratings of the hypothetical mothers' dominance and submissiveness as a function of her birth method whereas participants who preferred to have their children in the hospital showed little variation in their ratings of the mothers' assurance and submissiveness. Participants who preferred to have their children in a hospital rated the hypothetical mother lower on perception of character than participants who preferred to have their children at home.