Institutional Factors Influencing Ict Integration In Primary Schools In Mwingi Central Sub-County, Kitui County In Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated factors influencing integration of ICT in public primary teacher education. The rational was based on the view that ICT has become a principal driver in socio-economic change worldwide, thus there is a move towards its integration in teaching and learning process. However, this is not necessarily the case in public primary teacher education in Kenya. The literature review focused on the concept of integration of ICT in teacher education, government policies on integration of ICT in education and challenges in the integration of ICT in teaching and learning process. This descriptive survey study sought to investigate the extent to which public primary teacher training colleges in the central region of Kenya have integrated ICT in teaching and learning process. Further, the study looked at the challenges facing the integration of ICT in primary teacher education and finally established the factors influencing integration of ICT in primary teacher education. The study was carried out in four (4) public primary teachers' training colleges located in the central region of Kenya with a target population of 261 academic staff. A total of 176 respondents were picked from the institutions using proportionate sampling which targeted administrators, and teacher trainers randomly chosen from each of the eight (8) academic departments, however 148 responded. Data were collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. The obtained data were analyzed systematically using descriptive statistics and presented with help of frequency table, graphs and percentages in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. The study found that the factors that influenced integration of ICT in the primary teacher training colleges were: adequacy of internet connectivity, adequacy of computer hardware, adequacy of computer software, maintenance of ICT infrastructure, and training of personnel in ICT, teacher workload, teacher gender, teacher age, and presence of ICT policy and adequacy of funds. The study therefore recommends that primary teacher training colleges should develop strategies to identify strengths and weakness of various technological resources as well as an evaluation framework. Teacher trainers should also be provided with regular trainings and seminars on how to integrate ICT in teaching and learning process and adopt policies that enhance integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process.