Kennedy Indembukhani
Kennedy Indembukhani
School of Education
RESEARCH TOPIC:
Integration of Information and Communication Technology and Its Contribution to The Teaching of English in Secondary Schools in Kisumu County, Kenya
ABSTRACT:
Integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning is expected to offer better educational outcomes marked by improved performance. Despite investment in ICT infrastructure to promote the use of ICT in teaching, academic achievement has not matched the expectations. In Kisumu County, performance in English in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations has remained low at a score below 6 out of a possible mean of 12 for the period 2014-2017. Most studies have focused on provision of ICT infrastructure and teachers’ perception; however, minimal attention has been given to integration of ICT in the teaching of English. This has hampered development of appropriate practical strategies for the effective integration of ICT in the teaching of English in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to assess the integration of ICT and its contribution to the teaching of English in secondary schools. Objectives of this study were: to asses the teachers’ level of competence in integrating ICT in teaching English; assess the level of integration of ICT in teaching English; assess the strategies for integrating ICT in teaching English; establish the challenges faced by teachers in integrating ICT in the teaching of English and evaluate the contribution of integration of ICT to teaching of English. Bruner’s constructivism theory (1990) guided the study. Study used Descriptive survey design to collect data on aspects of ICT integration. Population size included 48 teachers of English, one County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (CQA&SO) and 12 principals. The sample size included 43 teachers, 1 CQA&SO and 10 principals. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 43 teachers while saturated sampling technique was used to select 10 principals and 1 CQA&SO. Questionnaire, interview schedule and document analysis guide were to collect data. Validity of the instruments was ascertained through expert judgement. A pilot study was used to establish reliability which was accepted at Pearson ‘r’ of 0.781 for teachers’ questionnaire. Qualitative data was transcribed and categorized thematically, while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages and means; qualitative data was transcribed and categorized thematically according to the study objectives. The study revealed that teachers lack ICT pedagogical integration competence in teaching English, integration of ICT is at the applying level it is not yet at transforming stage; teachers do not apply effective ICT integration strategies in teaching English, communication, collaboration and interactive strategies were more effective than production, distribution and presentation strategies, challenges experienced included inadequate ICT infrastructure, poor and un-coordinated training on ICT integration and biasness in training of teachers and access of ICT tools at school level favouring science subjects. ICT integration contributed to teacher preparation, access to up-to-date and a variety of teaching materials; enhanced teacher interaction, communication and collaboration, minimal student improvement in mastery of listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills, literary appreciation and achievement in English. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education, administrators and teachers of English, principals, CQA&SO, KICD to put in place uniform and regular subject specific training on ICT integration for teachers of English, increase access to ICT tools by both teachers and students, reduce teachers workload; teachers to use communication, collaboration and interaction ICT tools and strategies in teaching of English. The study concluded that: teaching of English is ineffective due to lack of teacher competence; teaching of English does not benefit maximally from the current level of ICT integration; teaching of English has not effectively collaboration, communication and interaction strategies offered by ICT; ICT integration face a number of challenges; ICT as minimally contributed to the teaching of English. The study recommended that; pre-service and in service teacher training on ICT pedagogical integration competence; provision of ICT infrastructure; teachers to adopt ICT collaboration, communication and interaction strategies. The study may contribute to the body of knowledge on ICT integration, provide practical strategies for teachers of English, enable principals, CQA&SO, and teachers solve the challenges identified, policy on ICT may be formulated