ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS ICT SKILLS
ABSTRACT
The study examined the attitude of secondary school students towards the use of ICT skills. The study specifically intended to find out how long students have had access to computers, ascertain the general attitudes of students toward Computer study and determine gender disparity in the attitudes of students toward the study of computer.
The descriptive survey was used to find out the attitude of secondary school students towards the use of ICT skills in Gboyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State. The population consisted of all the secondary school students in Gboyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State. While the sample used for this research work consisted of one hundred (100) students in senior secondary classes two and three (SS II and SS III) that were selected from the two secondary schools.
Results showed that most of the students have access to desktop computers or laptop at home, they have access to ICT facilities at internet cafes, few have access to ICT at school computer laboratories, most of respondents have access to ICT through their phone, while some said they do not have access to ICT
The study found that both gender groups had the same kind of attitude towards Information Communication Technology education. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommended that; Government should vigorously pursue the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) policy to the fullest to enable all students have access to personal computers. Parents are also encouraged to endeavour to assist their wards and children to have access to computers at home as long as the government policy has not covered every school child. Finally, the teachers are urged to motivate both male and female students to improve on their attitudes toward computer education to be at par with their male counterparts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Significance of the Study
Delimitation of the Study
Definition of Terms
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Definition and Concept of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT)
Benefits of using ICT to Students
Concept of Attitude
Attitudes toward ICT Skills
Gender Difference in Attitudes toward ICT Skills
The Place of Computer studies in the secondary school curriculum
Summary
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Research Design
Population of the Study
Sample and Sampling Techniques
Research Instrument
Validity of Instrument
Reliability of Instrument
Administration of the Instruments
Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results
Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The education system is the main source of human resource development. Its focus is on the acquisition of knowledge, self-learning, generic and transferable skills in communication, entrepreneurship, management and technology that are the characteristics of the learning society of today.
Teachers play a crucial role in the adoption and implementation of ICT in education; however, studies show that teachers lack the necessary ICT knowledge and skills. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are generally accepted as a modern instrumental tool which enables the educators to modify the teaching methods they use in order to increase the students interest and it is a new medium, a new way of representing, communicating and working with information. In Nigeria, there is serious need for increasing the learning abilities of the students with the help of ICT
There is an enormous use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in all spheres of human endeavour which is playing very significant roles in nations’ development. The rapidly growing impact of ICT has brought about a revolutionary change in every facet of human life (Kamal, 2002). Undoubtedly, the world is increasingly becoming an information society and heavily reliant on the use of ICT as a means of communication and transacting business (Senzige & Sarukesi, 2001). Really, the future of every economy and its citizens’ prosperity are strongly correlated with ICT integration in every aspect of life (Anderson, 2010). Developed and developing nations alike have realised that computers are useful tools which have positive effects on individuals and societies. The realisation of ICT as a most viable tool for development has motivated countries to introduce ICT education at all levels of education. Countries have invested and continue to invest significantly in information technology including hardware, software and people ware. They have accordingly evolved policies on ICT to encourage mass participation of students in computer education. Information Communication Technology certainly has been realised to have effects on how people learn, what people know and where people obtain knowledge and information (National Science Foundation, 2000).
There is no denying the fact that the world itself is becoming technologically based, from education to business. In this information and technology age, job requirements are changing and employees need to develop skills and competencies required by the job market (Nsiah-Gyabaah, 2011). Senzige and Sarukesi (2001) contend that the global economy is becoming a network and knowledge-based economy and that the knowledge gaps contribute to the economic gaps. To them, it is the introduction of ICT education in schools that will help reduce these gaps. Maltha (2000) also posits that today’s business community depends more on the use of ICT and so an individual who is competent in the use of such technologies stands a better chance of competing favourably in the labour market. Nowadays, a lot of business transactions is executed on the internet through e-commerce. It is implicit that people who do not possess computer knowledge and skills may not be able to participate in e-commerce which is gaining much currency in modern and international business.
The use of ICT in education is also unprecedented in recent times and it pervades all levels of education especially at the tertiary level. Higher learning institutions are increasingly orienting themselves to the use of ICT as a means of delivering subject matter contents (Senzige & Sarukesi, 2001). Some educational institutions have added on-line learning and blended learning models to the face-to-face education to broaden their scope of delivering education to their clienteles. Students who enrol in on-line learning and blended learning programmes need to be proficient in ICT.
Consequently, a senior high school student aspiring to have a university education may not be able to fare well if he or she does not possess basic knowledge and skills in ICT. It is, therefore, incumbent on senior high school students not only to possess adequate competence in ICT but also possess positive attitudes toward the learning of the subject to enable them have fruitful education when they eventually gain admission into institutions of higher learning to pursue various courses of their choice.
In most schools, ICT education has been incorporated into the curricula of all levels of education in the school system under its ICT for Accelerated Development Policy (ICT4AD) apparently due to its contributions to human resource and nations’ development. One of the objectives of the policy is to develop a pool of knowledgeable ICT workforce in critical skills areas and professions that would be able to contribute to the process of the development of Ghana’s information and knowledge economy. Information Communication Technology education is taught as a stand-alone subject which is compulsory for all students at the senior high school. It is observed that to make the learning of ICT very effective, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been providing appropriate instructional resources to schools. The government policy on ICT for accelerated development programme has been an impetus for ICT education in the country. Against this background, students may be expected to be positively predisposed to the study of the subject in school. Instructors are also expected to realise the importance of shaping students’ attitudes positively toward ICT education at all levels of education.
Attitudes towards ICT, not only students’ ICT skills is important, their attitude towards ICT do matter. If students are to adopt computer technologies, they must have the right kind of attitudes towards computers (Tengku, 2005). Researchers have investigated the relationship between computer attitudes and computer adoption. Students, who perceived the usefulness of computer and feel confident in using it, appear to be more positive in their attitudes toward ICT, thus tend to use computer more . In real world, motivation is highly valued because of its consequences where it mobilizes others to act (Ryan and Deci, 2000). The more the learning is intrinsically motivating, the more students will seek the knowledge for its own sake. When individuals learn for the sake of intrinsically motivating purposes, there will be greater persistency and consequently, this facilitates learning process in the long term (Vansteenkiste et al., 2004). Therefore, there is a need to tap into students’ intrinsic motivation gained through ICT literacy class as an indicator whether students do enjoy learning the subject in school and perceived themselves as better off than previously.
In general, there are four constructs in measuring attitude towards ICT, which are: (i) computer anxiety; (ii) computer confidence; iii) computer liking; and (iv) computer usefulness (Ariffin, 2005). However, there is no consensus among researchers in measuring the attitude. Another study employed three constructs i.e. (i) cognitive; (ii) affective; and (iii) psychomotor (Zuhari et al., 2009). A survey on attitude towards ICT among secondary school students in rural areas showed that these students have positive attitudes towards ICT but low level in ICT skills (Ariffin, 2005). These students showed a moderate level of confidence and attitude, but high level of perception toward computer usefulness. Similar study on computer literacy level of undergraduate students in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia showed that there is a significant difference in computer literacy level between male and female students; male students had greater computer experience and use computer more frequently and have a higher computer ability.
They had greater self-perceived control and higher programming skills and better ability in computer repair and maintenance than females. The study also found that computer experience and computer ownership affect computer literacy level (Zin et al., 2000). In related study, Othman and Latih (2006) found no correlation between prior experience in computer and success. Even though male students spend significantly more time playing computer games, programming and hacking, these activities do not result in outpacing female students, which implies the amount of time spent at the computer is not a measure of how well one performs academically. Found that overall students in schools and in higher learning institutions, especially the Malays, are positive and confident to face the emergence of computers and their use. They strongly agreed that ICT skills help them to learn, to enjoy learning, to find jobs, to do work efficiently and save time. Malay students show positive attitude towards ICT than non-Malay students. Students from urban area appear to be more positive in their attitude towards ICT than rural students. Results from (Zuhari et al., 2009) show that students scored high in all cognitive, affective and psychomotor constructs. These findings imply that the studied community college students have high level of perception toward computer usefulness, enjoy using ICT and feel motivated to use ICT in their work.
Statement of the Problem
Over the years, efforts have been made to provide computers to both public and private schools, at workshops and seminars organized to train teachers in order to improve their skills and knowledge of ICT and computer applications to better their productivity, competency and efficiency in the course of their lessons delivery, but these could not go down well without problems. The classroom is a microcosm of society, and technology is having an increasing impact in schools throughout the country. In the same way that little is known about how technology affects communities in general, little is yet to be known about the effects that increased use of technology is having on school communities, in particular, on the sense of community of classroom learners (Wighting, 2006).
Thus the problem of secondary school education today ranges from low level of computer literacy among staff and students, inadequate computers for practical lessons and lack of internet connectivity in schools where there are computer laboratories and in some instances unsteady power supply also there is the issue of inadequate trained staff/technicians for enhanced computer training and teaching, all these prompted the need to investigate the roles of computer in promoting secondary school education today.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitude of secondary school students towards the use of ICT skills. Specifically, the study intended to:
- find out how long students have had access to computers
- ascertain the general attitudes of students toward Computer study
- determine gender disparity in the attitudes of students toward the study of computer
- ascertain students’ views on Computer teachers’ treatment of the gender groups
Research Questions
The following questions guided the study:
- Do students have access to computers?
- What are students’ attitudes toward Computer education?
- What are the attitudes of male and female student towards ICT Skills
Significance of the Study
The study would contribute to deepening educationists and Computer instructors’ understanding of student attitude towards computer education and ICT uses. The study would create stakeholders’ awareness of students’ attitudes toward the learning of the new technology. The results of the study have provided data for policy formulation and information to enable educators to counsel male students to improve on their attitudes toward computer education.
Therefore, the findings of this research work will make the students see the benefit of surfing the internet for class assignment. Introduction of ICT will also improve students’ academic performance
It will help parents to know the importance of ICT in students’ academic performance and see reasons why they should buy some of the facilities for their children.
Finally, this study is likely to inspire other researchers to embark on similar studies into students’ attitudes towards ICT.
Delimitation of the Study
This study will be restricted to four (4) secondary schools within Gboyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State. The study will consist of one hundred twenty (120) respondents among four selected secondary school in the above named local government.
Definition of Terms
Computer: A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data.
ICT: Information and Communication Technology
Teaching Effectiveness: When we talk about teaching effectiveness, it’s usually in the context of evaluation. Student ratings are frequently described as measures of teaching effectiveness, and that makes our understanding of the term important.
Information Technology:- Refers to the use of information system apparatus to process and disseminate information or data. It plays a major role in the performance of cooperate organization in Nigeria.
Network System:- It is having a certain number of computer and intelligent peripherals interconnected for the purpose of sharing of sources and exchange of information.
Local Area Network:- (LAN):- This is a network of computers with different officers but in the same environment or building
Internet:- This is an acronym of internetworking system, it is a process of packing and transmitting data, text and voice or video information among users. It is the ability of two independent users to communicate over internet using combination of technologies such as MODEMS. LANs, Satellites etc.
E.-mail:- This is an abbreviation of electronic mail. It means letter and document typed or scanned in one office is deliver quickly to another office irrespective of its distance.
The post ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARDS ICT SKILLS appeared first on TY Computer Institute.
HOW TO ORDER FOR COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIALSTEP 1
» Bank Branch Deposits, ATM/online transfers (Amount: ₦3,000 NGN)
 |
Bank: FIRST BANK Account Name: OMOOGUN TAIYE Account Number: 3116913871 Account Type: SAVINGS Amount: ₦3,000 AFTER PAYMENT, TEXT YOUR TOPIC AND VALID EMAIL ADDRESS TO 07064961036 OR 08068355992 OR Click Here |
 |
Bank: ACCESS BANK Account Name: OMOOGUN TAIYE Account Number: 0766765735 Account Type: SAVINGS Amount: ₦3,000 AFTER PAYMENT, TEXT YOUR TOPIC AND VALID EMAIL ADDRESS TO 07064961036 OR 08068355992 Click Here |
 |
Bank: HERITAGE BANK Account Name: OMOOGUN TAIYE Account Number: 1909068248 Account Type: SAVINGS Amount: ₦3,000 AFTER PAYMENT, TEXT YOUR TOPIC AND VALID EMAIL ADDRESS TO 07064961036 OR 08068355992 Click Here |