Challenges Facing Adoption of Ict in Government Secondary

CHALLENGES FACING ADOPTION OF ICT IN GOVERNMENT SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

A CASE STUDY OF MBONI SECONDARY SCHOOL

WITNESS MOSHI

A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Informationand Communication Technology of

Moshi Co-operative University.

Moshi.

May, 2016

DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT

I, Witness Moshi, declare that this research proposal is my original work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other higher learning institution for similar or any academic award.

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This research proposal is copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act of 1999 and other international and national enactments, in that behalf, on intellectual property It may not be produced by any means, in full or in part, expect for short extract in fair dealing, for search or private study, critical scholarly review or discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the Moshi Co-operative University on behalf of the author.

CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certifies that he has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by the Moshi Co-operative University a research proposal titled the “Challenges facing adoption of ICT in government secondary schools” A case study of Mboni Secondary School in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Information Communication Technology of Moshi Co-operative University.

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Supervisor’s Name

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Supervisors’ signature

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost I thank the almighty God for giving me strength, wisdom, love and protection throughout my studies. Secondly, in a special way I would like to give thanks to my Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Moshi for being there for me whenever I needed them. Their financial and non-financial support in my life is highly acknowledged.

Thirdly, I owe special gratitude to my research supervisor Dr. E. Mwende for his tireless guidance, encouragement, valuable ideas and helpful positive criticisms which enabled me to improve and shape this work up to this point.

Finally, I appreciate the advice and assistance received from my beloved friends, Hellen Mollel, Godgifty Kimaro, Nemes Saleko, Edgar Muro and Emmanuel Kiwia for their prayers and material support. May Almighty God bless them abundantly.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

Ed Edition

IBM International Business Machines Corporation

ICT Information and Communication Technology

ITInformation Technology

NECTANational Examination Council of Tanzania

PC Personal Computer

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science

SSSecondary School

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 1: Relationship between dependent variable and Independent variables…………………7

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The sample size ……………………………………………………………….9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………………………………..i

DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT

CERTIFICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study problem

1.2 Statement of the problem

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main objective

1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study

1.4 Research Questions

1.5 Scope of the study

1.6 Significance of Study

1.7 Limitations of Research Study

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of key terms

2.1.1 Information Technology

2.1.2 Information Communication Technology

2.1.3 Adoption of ICT

Adoption of ICT

2.1.4 Government Secondary School

2.1.5 Internet

2.2 Empirical study

2.3 Theory of the Study

2.4 Variable relationship

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Description of the study area

3.2 Research design

3.3 Sampling

3.3.1 Sampling Frame

3.3.2 Sampling Unit

3.3.3 Sample Size

3.3.4 Sampling methods

3.4 Types of data

3.5 Source of data

3.6 Data collection methods

3.6.1 Interview

3.6.2 Questionnaires

3.7 Data analysis and interpretation techniques

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Questionnaire for students

Appendix 2. Questionnaires for Staff

Appendix 3. Interview guide questions for staff and students

Appendix 4. Budget for research proposal and Report

Appendix 5. Proposed work plan for research proposal and research report

Appendix 6. Formulae for sample size

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study problem

ICTs stand for Information and Communication Technologies and defined as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, to create, disseminate, store, and manage information.These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies and telephony. "ICT in Education" means "Teaching and Learning with ICT" ( Tinio, 2013).

The major problem is poor adoption of ICT in secondary schools. In Tanzania the problem was identified during 1990’s when in Secondary School Computer Studies Syllabus for Forms I – IV was developed in 1996 and issued in 1997.

The problem also emerged in Europe example in Germany the investigation of this problem was done and found that adoption and the use of ICT in education and training has been a priority but progress has been uneven example in Berlin is wide spread than in others cities.

For the case of Mboni Secondary School there is partial integration of ICT in academics. Mboni has the population of 710, number of computer available is 45. Forty computers were used by all students which make 4 students to share one computer (1:4) also there is no internet. This indicates poor adoption of ICT in education as a problem in Mboni. There were efforts done in Mboni to reduce this problem such as expansion of computer laboratory room from accommodating 20 PC to 50 PC and having an ICT teacher since they used to borrow a teacher from Lyakirimu Secondary School. Through that effort Mboni got one teacher while the demand is 3 teachers. Also no discussion about the network infrastructure used by secondary schools which may influence sharing and transferring of learning material. This study aims to fill the mentioned gap by assessing Mboni secondary school.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Despite the efforts were done by Mboni Secondary School in integrating ICT in education still adoption of ICT was very poor, Mboni has only 45 computers used by 710 populations, there was no internet services as well as no network infrastructure. ICT facilities are not enough to acquire, create, transfer and sharing of education. However, all schools in the country are supposed to take ICT as a course in their syllabus since it is in the curriculum as stated in ICT policy of Tanzania of 2003 ( section 2.2.2 enhancing education using ICT)

Therefore there was a need to investigate the challenges facing adoption of ICT in government secondary schools.

Mboni Secondary School has only 40 computers for students which are 660 where one computer shared by 4 students during session. It supposed every student to have his/her own computer during session. Also there was a need of internet as well as network infrastructure to get access to the internet and enable sharing of information.

The problem was in high level since only 6% of students can have access to the computer per time. The problem was direct affecting students from Form One up to Form Four in Mboni Secondary School.

Poor adoption of ICT in Mboni Secondary School leads to negative impact like fail to share knowledge inside and outside the school through internet and network infrastructure, also students fail their examinations especially ICT due to shortage of learning material. The possible causes can be inadequate ICT infrastructure. There were some efforts done like increasing computer from 5 in 2008 to 45 in 2010 sponsored by their friends from Canada.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main objective

The purpose of this study was to find out challenges causing poor adoption of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary schools in Moshi Rural, case study of Mboni Secondary School.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study

To examine how ICT adoption is effective in secondary schools at Moshi rural specifically Mboni Secondary School.
To examine circumstantial challenges facing ICT student in Secondary schools at Moshi rural specifically Mboni Secondary School.
To suggest measures towards problem facing ICT student in secondary school specifically Mboni Secondary School.

1.4 Research Questions

To what extent is ICT application effective in secondary schools at Moshi rural specifically Mboni Secondary School ?
What are the circumstantial challenges facing ICT student in secondary school specifically Mboni Secondary School?
What are the measures to be taken toward problem facing ICT students in secondary school specifically Mboni Secondary School ?

1.5 Scope of the study

The study was focus on finding the circumstantial challenges facing adoption of ICT in Secondary School specifically Mboni secondary school. Mboni Secondary School is government school located in Kilimanjaro region in Moshi rural.

1.6 Significance of Study

The Study was for to help the researcher to understand the challenges facing adoption of ICT in Secondary School. The anticipated findings which may be challenges of poor adaptation of ICT and causes of those challenges will also be beneficially to the School administrators and other stake holders to understand the circumstantial challenges that are facing ICT students in secondary schools and how to plan to eradicate them to offer students quality ICT education.

The study was expected to stimulate other researchers to investigate and come up with strong measures to be taken toward the problem.

1.7 Limitations of Research Study

During the process of data collection there were limitations. Those limitations were willingness of the people to give accurate and intended data as many staff and heads of schools sometimes are not ready to give data relating to their internal affairs. Teachers who were not teaching ICT did not respond on questionnaires they were given, so data collected from staffs who concerning with ICT only. Language barrier due to poor background of students in speaking English. The problem of language barrier was modified by using simple English to communicates with respondents as well as using interview question guide by explain them much to make respondents to understand them well in order to get the required data. Also financial constrains in all process of collecting data due to bus fare, typing and bindings expenses. Due to problem of financial constrains research took sample of 45 respondents in Mboni so as to print only 45 questionnaires.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of key terms

2.1.1 Information Technology

According to Shelly Cashman (2011), Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data often in the context of a businesses or other enterprises.

2.1.2 Information Communication Technology

According to Philp et al. (2012), ICT is a generic term referring to technologies that are used for collecting, storing, editing and passing on (communicating) information in various forms.

2.1.3 Adoption of ICT

Adoption of ICT is the transformation from the manual system to the digital system.

2.1.4 Government Secondary School

Government Secondary Schools are school owned by the government, offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation.

2.1.5 Internet

According to Kenneth (2003), Internet is well-known, and the largest implementation of internetworking, linking hundreds of thousands of individual networks all over the world. The Internet has a range of capabilities that organisations are using to exchange information internally or to communicate externally with other organisations.

2.2 Empirical study

The New Information Technology (Act, 2000) passed by Indian Parliament is a step in the right direction. Not only polices are important, but also their implementation deserves greater attention. Laudon (2010) investigated the use of ICT in education that embedded in learning framework. The study found that the students and teachers were using the ICT to search for general information, but not as the primary repository for learning.

To ensure the success of education in Secondary Schools, ICT is identified as the one of the critical factor for enhancing education (Hassan & Crawford 2003). ICT plays crucial role in managing and organizing knowledge by providing the channels for acquiring, storing, collaboration, categorizing, dissemination, sharing, and reuse of knowledge in a faster and more convenient ways both between and within organisations. Pointed out that ICT support learning processes through providing ready access to organized information, improved communication and provides interaction with fellow students and group decision support systems that facilitate learning, but not discussing the challenges facing adoption of ICT in learning process.

2.3 Theory of the Study

Hansen et al. (1999) divided ICT in education in two categories: people-to-document approach and the personalization approach. The people-to-document approach is placed on the computer. Schools use ICT to capture, store, disseminate, and allow for reuse of learning materials. This approach allows people to search and retrieve stored knowledge without having to contact the person who originally developed it. The personalization approach on the other hand is centered on the dialogy between individuals, not the knowledge object in the database. In this approach, learning is tied to a person who develop the knowledge and is mutually shared, mainly through direct person-to-person contact. The main purpose of ICT in this approach is to help communication of knowledge and not necessarily to store it.

2.4 Variable relationship

A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period or any other category that can be measured. There are two types of variable that are dependent variables and independent variables.

Independent variable is the stand alone variable and is not changed by other variable you measure, in this study are Background on using ICT, Number of computer available, Number of computer teachers and internet access. Dependent Variables is the variable which depend on other factors. In this study is adoption of ICT. Change of independent variable has direct impact on dependent variable. The following figure shows relationship between dependent variable and independent variables.

Fig 1: Relationship between dependent variable and Independent variables.

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Description of the study area

The study was conducted in Mboni Secondary School. It situated in Moshi Rural in Kilimanjaro region and lies between latitude03° 17' 0.34'' to 3° 17' 21.9'' South of Equator and between longitude 037° 31' 22.6'' to 37° 31' 29.2'' East of Greenwich Meridian. The tribe which is in Moshi rural is Chagga and the geographical features of Kilimanjaro include mountain Kilimanjaro, rivers and vegetations. The reason for conducting this study in Kilimanjaro in Moshi rural is due to presence of secondary schools like Mboni secondary which offer computer courses and there is a poor adoption of ICT.

3.2 Research design

This research use a case study research design. Basically, a case study is an in depth study of a particular situation. It is a method used to narrow down a very broad field of research into one easily researchable topic.

3.3 Sampling

3.3.1 Sampling Frame

The population of 710 (2016 school report) including staff and student of Mboni Secondary School was used in the determination of sample during data collection.

3.3.2 Sampling Unit

A sampling units are aggregate divided for the purpose of sampling, each unit being regarded as individual and indivisible when the selection is made (Kothari, 2004). In this study sampling unit was 40 students and 5 staff member of Mboni Secondary School.

3.3.3 Sample Size

Sample is the group of participants selected from population characteristics. Leddy (1980) comments that the purpose of proper selection of sample procedures should produce respondents who will represent characteristics of the population study. The sample size of 45 respondents was used in this study to include headmaster, academic master, teachers and students from Form One to Form Four. (Appendix 6)

Table 1 shows sample size of 45 respondents, where respondents were students and teachers.

Table 1: The sample size

Respondents / Questionnaires
Students / 40
Teachers / 5

3.3.4Sampling methods

Simple random sampling method was used in this study. Research was used Simple random sampling to collect data from students and staff members.The technique was used in the selection of study points or areas because of its convenience in selecting the sample in specific areas. The sample size of 45 participants were selected.

3.3.4.1 Simple random sampling

A simple random sample is meant to be unbiased representation of a group. Advantages of simple random sampling are that the samples yield research data that can be generalized to a large population. This method also provides an equal opportunity of selection of each element of the population. It is a procedure in which all the individuals in the defined population have an equal and independent chance of being selected as a member of sample (Kombo, 2006).

3.4 Types of data

Two types of data Qualitative and Quantitative types were collected.

3.5 Source of data

The data can be collected from primary and secondary source of data. This study used primary data where data collected direct from respondents through personal interview, Questionnaire and observation. Also secondary data were used.

3.6 Data collection methods

3.6.1 Interview

The interview was carried out and the interviewees included both the staff and students. It involved two people one asking a set of questions (interviewer) and the other answering questions (Respondent or an interviewee). Advantage of using interview is the researcher can repeat or refine the question when the response indicates that the respondents misunderstood it and the fact that people who are unable to read and write can still answer questions in an interview. Five interview guide questions have been used (Appendix 3).

3.6.2 Questionnaires

A questionnaire is the schedule of questions in which the respondents fill in the answers. Questionnaire was preferred because it gathers a lot of data from respondents also provide freedom to answer questions. This method used to collect data from students, teachers, head teachers and stakeholders. Thirteen data was collected through questionnaires by giving seven questionnaires for students and six for staff. (Appendix 1 & 2)

3.7 Data analysis and interpretation techniques