in order to explore possibilities for managing the complexity of pedagogy with ICTs Whetten’s (1989) two criteria for theory building together with Checkland’s “systems thinking” were adopted for the analysis presented in this paper. Whetten argued that a balance should be achieved between comprehensiveness (i. e., are all relevant factors included?) and parsimony (i.e., should some factors be deleted because they add little additional value to our understanding?) (Whetten 1989 P.490). Early stages in the development of a theory or understanding of a situation should be comprehensive (Whetten 1989). This may be achieved by taking a holistic approach to develop a rich picture (Checkland 1981, 2000). Thus in the analysis presented in this paper a broad “systems thinking” approach was adopted, at the outset, in order to achieve a holistic view of pedagogy and how pedagogy is situated in a broader educational context. Then existing purposeful activity systems from important world-views (Checkland 2000) identified from research were examined in order to identify key issues for managing complexity and fruitful areas for future development.