The relationship between selected factors and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in classroom instruction by secondary school agriculture teachers in Nyamira County, Kenya

Abstract

Research studies in the past decade have shown that ICTs are effective means for widening educational opportunities. However, their use in classroom instruction by most teachers in Kenya is limited. Some of the factors influencing teachers’ use of ICTs in teaching have been extensively studied but scanty information exists on their influence on secondary school agriculture teachers’ use of ICTs in classroom instruction. The purpose of this study was; to determine the relationship between selected factors and the use of ICTs in classroom instruction by secondary school agriculture teachers in Nyamira County. The study investigated the relationship between the following ICT factors and the use of ICTs in classroom instruction by secondary school agriculture teachers: availability of ICT resources, availability of e-content, teachers’ attitudes towards ICTs, teachers’ ICT competency, and school administrative support on ICTs. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The target population comprised 215 secondary school agriculture teachers from the five sub-counties of Nyamira County. Proportionate to size, stratified random sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 100 respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. The instrument was evaluated by supervisors, lecturers and peers in the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension of Egerton University for its content and face validity. It was then piloted in south Gucha sub-county for its reliability. The instrument reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability and 0.77 alpha coefficient was obtained. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation) were used for data analysis. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used as an aid in data analysis and all tests were computed at α=0.05. The study established that although most of the schools had basic ICT resources, these resources were barely adequate and inaccessible to teachers. Significant relationships existed between the following independent variables and ICT use: availability of ICT resources (r=0.204, p<0.05); availability of e-content and (r=0.46, p<0.05); teachers’ attitudes towards ICTs (r=0.28, p<0.05); teachers’ ICT competence (r=0.52; p<0.05), and administrative support (r=0.405; p<0.05). These factors were therefore found to influence agriculture teachers’ use of ICTs. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, school administrators and other educational stakeholders should provide ICT resources to schools, provide training opportunities and support to teachers for effective use of ICTs in classroom instruction