Full Research Project – LEVEL OF UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND TEACHERS’ LITERACY IN BASIC SCIENCE TEACHING.

Full Research Project – LEVEL OF UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND TEACHERS’ LITERACY IN BASIC SCIENCE TEACHING..

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0       INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the frameworks of the study in addition to a review of empirical studies on level of utilization of information and communication technology tools and teachers’ literacy in basic science teaching. The following were taken into consideration during the course of the study:

• Conceptual framework
• The role of ICT in Science Education
• Implication of ICT in science education
• Benefits of Information and Communication Technology on Teacher Efficiency in the Educational Sector
• Problems of ICT on Teacher Efficiency in Secondary Schools
• Security Threats of ICT and Administrative Efficiency of Principals
• ICT and Teachers Effective Performance
• ICT Infrastructure in the Education Sector
• Empirical Review

 

2.1       CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Teacher’s motivation to use ICT in the classroom is at present, adversely influenced by a number of constraints including; lack of time to gain confidence and experience with technology: limited access to reliable resources: a science curriculum overloaded with content assessment that requires no use of the technology and a lack of subject – specific guidance for using ICT to support learning. While this technology can in principle, be employed in diverse ways to support different curriculum goals and forms pedagogy. Such constraints have often stifled teachers use of ICT in ways which effectively exploit its interactivity. Consequently well integrated and effective classroom use of ICT is currently rare.

 

On the whole, use of ICT in school science lab is driven by – rather than transformative of the prescribed curriculum and established pedagogy. In sum, a teacher tends to use ICT largely to support, enhances and complement existing classroom practice rather than re-shaping subject contents, goals and pedagogy. However, teacher’s motivation and commitment are high and practice is gradually changing. Training teachers in using ICT in the classroom appears to have had more success in science than in other subjects. Teachers are now beginning to develop and trial new strategies which successfully overcomes the distractions of the technology and focus attention instead on their intended learning objectives (Osborne, 2003).

 

ICT has very strong effect in education and it provides enormous tools for enhancing teaching and learning. There have been many studies that have highlighted the various ways that ICT may support teaching and learning processes in a range of disciplinary fields such as the construction of new opportunities for interaction between students and knowledge; accesing information and etc. ICT can have a useful effect on teaching and learning if it is used under right conditions including suitable sources, training and support. ICT also offers the potential to meet the learning needs of individual students, to promote equal opportunity, to offer learning material, and also promote interdependence of learning among learners (Leach, Ahmed, Makalima & Power, 2005).

 

Roblyer and Edwards (2000) suggested that there are five important reasons for teachers to use technology in education: (1) motivation, (2) distinctive instructional abilities, (3) higher productivity of teachers, (4) essential skills for the Information Age, and (5) support for new teaching techniques (cited in, Samak, 2006). In order to use of technology in the classroom effectively, teachers’ attitude toward technology should be positive and they should be trained in using the modern technologies in the field of education. Chin and Hortin (1994) stated that the teacher clearly must act as the “change agent” in the relationship between technology and the student.

 

Over the past 25 years, there have been many studies in local, national and international scopes to integrate ICT in education. These studies aim to improve the effects of teacher training (Cox, Rhodes & Hall 1988), levels of resources (Cox, 1993), teachers’ pedagogies and practices (Watson, 1993), and the effects of computers on students’ achievement. However, the early studies in this field have ignored teacher attitudes toward computer (Harper, 1987). Recent studies indicate that teachers’ attitudes toward computers have significant implications for their behaviours in the use of computers for teaching.]

 

During the process of combining ICT with education, teachers’ attitude towards using knowledge besides their talent and desire will be a crucial point affecting the results of application. The basic agent for establishing and working this system is teachers. It is argued that successful integration of ICT in education enables teachers to transform instruction from teacher-centered to student-centered where learners may interact with their peers and use the computers and Internet for their own learning needs. However, many teachers do not regard themselves fully-equipped, comfortable and sufficient in using ICT in educational settings, and they feel more confident with their traditional teaching styles (Hawkins, 2002).

 

Computer experience has been the most commonly cited variable correlated to positive attitudes. Woodrow (1992) reported correlations between computer experience and attitudes toward technology. Chou (1997) also highlighted that computer experience influenced teacher attitudes toward computers. Ropp (1999) found that there is significant relationship between computer access & hours of computer use per week and computer attitudes.

 

The effects of computer ownerships on the teachers’ perceived computer competence, concentration on improving the quality of current practice and computer attitudes have been investigated in many studies. In summary, computer ownership has been consistently correlated to attitudes toward computers and positive effects for preparing teaching and learning materials.

 

2.2       THE ROLE OF ICT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Science education has it roots in the recognition by Victorian society that it had changed

from an agrarian society to one dominated by and reliant on scientific and technological expertise. In 1851, the great exhibition brought the realization that this new society could only be sustained by ensuring that a body of people was educated in science and technology. However, whilst there was little disagreement about the necessity for incorporating science into curriculum, the form and content of that science education has since that time been a matter of considerable debate Osborne (2003). They went further to say that opposing camps have laid between, on the one hand, those who would emphasize the need for science education to develop knowledge and understanding of the basic scientific principles the foundation on which the edifice rests and, on the other, those who would argue for an emphasis on the processes of science thinking. Osborne (2003) said, the dominant model of curriculum has been on which has seen science education as a pre-professional form of training for the ministry of today’s youth who will become the scientist of tomorrow. This characteristics has arguably been responsible for the under valuing of science within the British establishment who have historically regarded it as a lesser form in contrast, were often seen as offering an education of the complete individual. There are four common rationales for science education.

1. The Utilitarian: the view that knowledge of science is practically useful to everyone
2. The Economic: the view that we must ensure an adequate supply of scientifically trained individual to sustain and develop on advance industrial society.

iii.        The Cultural Argument: the view that science and technology are one, if not the greatest, achievement of contemporary society and that a knowledge thereof is an essential prerequisites for the educated individual.

1. The Democratic: the argument that many of the political and dilemmas posed by contemporary society are of scientific nature. Participating in the debate surrounding there resolution requires knowledge of some aspects of science and technology. Hence, educating the populace in science and technology is an essential requirement to sustain a healthy democratic society. (Osborne et’al 2003).

 

2.3       IMPLICATION OF ICT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Information Communication Technology plays a major role in human activities in everyday living in order to cope and adopt to the demand of the environment. If the vision of science education is to bring socio-economic development, the role of ICT in science education cannot be over – emphasized. In the world over, it is generally agreed that development could only be meaningful if and when it is science and technology driven. With the actualization of the vision and prospects of ICT has the following implication on science education.

1. Adequate funding: The success of ICT in science education program largely depends on funding. This can be achieved when the funding of the program is properly articulated and handled especially as it is regards to science education.
2. Provision of Instructional Materials: Provision of Instructional Materials are materials, facilities, equipment that the teacher uses to illustrate explain and emphasizes the lesson for better comprehensive by the students.

iii.        Teacher Recruitment and Professional development teachers constitute the principles stakeholder and major executor of a successful science education program with the increase in student enrollment in science subject and the change in the content of the curriculum adequate numbers of inspiring and fully prepared teachers on science education are needed to make for proper implementation of the ICT program.

1. Remuneration and improve work condition of science education teachers. It is known that optional working condition for teachers directly contribute to the good quality of public education. It is necessary for the government to rehabilitate and restore the image of teachers. This could be done by enhancing teacher’s packages, teachers housing, accommodation and utility allowances should be increased.

Transfer allowances should be paid to teachers who go on transfer. Also, those who dwell in riverine and rural areas to perform their duties should be given special allowances to encourage teacher’s retention for the science education program.

1. Monitoring and evaluation: all tiers of government and educational management are involved. The target is to identify science education potential constraint so that appropriate step can be taken to overcome them.

 

2.3.1    Benefits of Information and Communication Technology on Teacher Efficiency in the Educational Sector

Rajeev (2008) has specified that ICT has played a major role in reducing operational inefficiency and improving decision-making in many areas of governance. An integrated Higher Education Service System is one such concept that can empower the governing bodies to administer the progress of the education plan in the whole country and serve various stakeholders in a much better manner.

 

According to Christiana (2008), teacher subsystems include personnel administration, student administration, resources administration, financial administration and general administration. It is evident from the above that teacher activities in a higher education institution consist of student administration, staff and resources administration, communication and general administration.

 

Olive (2006) said ICT fosters the dissemination of information and knowledge by separating content from its physical location. This flow of information is largely impervious to geographic boundaries allowing remote communities to become integrated into global networks and making information, knowledge and culture accessible, in theory, to anyone. It is also mentioned that ICT enhances day-to-day management of institutions and the various functional areas in which it could be used are specified below:

1. Timetabling
2. Student admission and Tracking
3. Financial Management
4. Medical services
5. Procurement and Store management
6. Data distribution and management

ICT is used in maintenance of student and staff records and for communication and document management. Ashish and Arun (2005) have mentioned about the positive perception towards the use of ICT in education. It is mentioned in the study that students of different universities reported the usage of ICT for communication and for on-line discussion forums. ICT facilitated contact and information exchange and also promoted access to higher education. ICTs included systems for student admission and records, examination results and transcripts, finance database, human resources database, and management information.

 

Information administration in this context refers to activities relating to the management of higher education institutions which is often mentioned in other studies as managerial activities in higher education institutions. The teacher systems include Personnel administration, student administration, resources administration, financial administration and general administration.

 

Based on the literature review the three main functional areas of information administration that are of great significance for day-to-day management of higher education institutions was identified as follows:

1. Student administration
2. Staff administration
3. General administration

Student administration is an important and integral part of information administration. This involves various activities commencing from the admission process to learning activities till processing of results and performance analysis. The integration of ICT into this process enhances the overall admission activities of higher education institutions by making it more accessible to many.

 

Based on the literature review, the important items identified under this category relates to the automation of admission process through e-media. This includes admission enquiry by students, applying for admissions through electronic media, registration / enrolment using computers, course allotment, and availability of information like timetable / class schedule in electronic form and attendance monitoring / maintenance through e-media.

 

Further it includes the various communications relating to transport, hostel accommodation and other communication to guardians/parents. The integration also helps in expansion of the geographical boundaries for student intake, thus facilitating cross-border higher education.

 

Staff administration includes recruitment and work allotment of faculty and staff in the institution, their attendance and leave management, and performance appraisal. This also includes relevant communication to and from the institutions and among peers. Staff administration done through Information and communication technology (ICT) helps in processing of voluminous records in a quick, meticulous, and impeccable manner thereby making data retrieval easier (Thomas, 2004).

 

In general, a good communication system should also be in place for the overall effectiveness of administration. ICT helps in providing a good communication system in higher education system (Magni 2009). ICT helps in providing timely information to all concerned. Communication could be for internal and external information acquisition and dissemination. It includes communication between the important stakeholders of the system such as sending e-circulars to students, faculty and staff. The dissemination of information about the institution using e-kiosks is also a very important item to be considered. The relevant aspects of communication have been clubbed with Student administration and Staff administration for this research study.

 

A very important part of Information administration is general administration of higher education institutions which includes the various day-to-day activities of the entire system. Through literature reviews, it is evident that the integration of ICT into general administration has brought increased efficiency and optimal resource utilization. The various items classified under this category include usage of electronic media for scheduling of halls and other resources, fee payment, and handling internal and external examination activities in coordination with the faculty members, all day to-day activities, intra and inter communication etc,.

2.4       PROBLEMS OF ICT ON TEACHER EFFICIENCY IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Many researchers agree with the idea that ICT’s role is to be a reliable tool to improve the quality of life and this reduces the economic gap between developed and developing countries. Applying ICT to schooling is an urgent task for developing countries to implement. However, there are challenges that the developing world is facing and these make the ‘Digital Divide’ continue not only between countries but also within countries. The hurdles are mainly divided into four categories; a lack of financial resources, poor access to the internet, limited trained teachers, and lack of policy (Gulati 2008)

Despite the keenness of some institutions of higher learning to establish effective ICT education programs, they are confronted with enormous problems that may impede the proper implementation of these programs. The most significant of these is poor ICT penetration and usage among Nigerian higher education practitioners. Almost all African countries’ basic ICT infrastructures are inadequate; a result of a lack of electricity to power the ICT materials and poor telecommunication facilities. Above all, this lack of access to much needed infrastructure is to the result of insufficient funds (Ololube, Ubogu & Egbezor, 2007). Several cities and rural areas in Nigeria still have fluctuation in their supply of electricity which makes the implementation of ICT in education most difficult. Additionally most Nigerian universities do not have access to basic instructional technology facilities, which also makes the integration of instructional technology in the delivery of quality education difficult.

Poor economic conditions and their effect on middle level manpower stand as a major barrier to the implementation of ICTs in higher education. Even an average middle income earner can not afford basic technological communication gadgets. Thus, computer related telecommunication facilities might not be overly useful for most Nigerian students and faculty members, as computers are still very much a luxury in institutions, offices and homes. This has made the integration of necessary on-line resources (e-mail, world-wide-web, etc.) into higher education most difficult (Ifinedo & Ololube, 2007).

According to the Commonwealth of Learning International (2001), another serious challenge facing higher education in Nigeria is the need for integration of new ICT literacy knowledge into academic courses and programs. In this regard, professionals in Nigeria have not been able to benefit from international assistance, international networking and cooperation, or from courses, conferences and seminars abroad, because of lack of funding. This denial of assistance and absence of interaction has had adverse consequences, both on the psyche of faculty and on the implementation of the infrastructure necessary for professional development.

Financial Issues: The first issue, which almost all secondary schools administration face, is how to deal with the scarcity of financial resources (Oliveira 1989). Resources in the developing world are always scarce so that they have to be spent mostly on basic supplies such as food, housing and roads. In a sense, investing in ICT for schooling might be regarded as a long term issue which means adopting ICT in the education system is relatively not an urgent issue considering the serious poverty in many African countries. This results in a vicious circle between scarcity of funds and underdevelopedness. When it comes to the controversy of priority of investment between basic services and ICT, both might be linked in the case of education. One piece of good news about cost is the cost of hardware is decreasing rapidly. The price of PCs and peripherals is reduced to half of the original price every two years. Because of this, the salary of the IT professionals who can teach the new technology is the biggest burden on education budgets and it is followed by software related costs (Oliveira 1989).

Limited Internet Access: Access to the internet is highly limited in remote areas, and relatively poor infrastructure in developing nations such as  supply of electricity makes this worse (Gulati 2008). Low infrastructure is the fundamental problem for developing countries to deal with and it might take a long time and huge funding to improve. Low literacy rates also hinder locals in remote areas from accessing information through the internet and due to the dominance of English on the internet, non-English speaking local people are isolated from the benefits of using internet (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2006).

 

Lack of Trained Staff: Another challenge faced by teacher personnel in adopting ICT in education systems is as a result of lack of trained teachers (Gulati 2008; Kozma 1999). When it comes to practically applying ICT, which is new to traditional teachers, many may not know how to deal with it and sometimes they are reluctant to accept new technologies in their classrooms. Thus, tutors who can train these teachers about new technology and IT professionals who can technically install and maintain the system are needed.

 

Lack of Policy: Gulati (2008) argues that inappropriate policy and funding decisions may hinder equal educational development in some developing countries. He also asserts that elitism is the most common driver for improper policy. For example, India focuses mostly on the higher education system so the poor do not have enough opportunities to get adequate education even though there is certain technology-enhanced education such as satellite TV learning programs (Gulati 2008). Pressure from industry might be another source of improper policy (Oliveira 1989). Industry lobbyists distort the policy of ICT and education for the purpose of their favour.

The governments in developing nations need to liberalize markets and cut taxes on the ICT industries. For the reasonable and affordable pricing, market liberalization should be accomplished. Cutting taxes also help in increasing affordability resulting in  spreading ICT accessibility(Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2006). When it comes to policy advice, Gulati(2008) especially focuses on investing in infrastructure. These actions will help boost sustainable technology enhanced schooling.

2.4.1    ICT and Teachers Effective Performance

The field of education has been affected by ICTs, which have undoubtedly affected teaching, learning and research (Yusuf, 2005) .ICTs have the potential to accelerate, enrich, and deepen skills, to motivate and engage students, to help relate school experience to work practices, create economic viability for tomorrow’s workers, as well as strengthening teaching and helping schools change (Davis and Tearle, 1999; Lemke and Coughlin, 1998; cited by Yusuf, 2005). In a rapidly changing world, basic education is essential for an individual be able to access and apply information. Such ability must find include ICTs in the global village.

 

Conventional teaching has emphasized content. For many years course have been written around textbooks. Teachers have taught through lectures and presentations interspersed with tutorials and learning activities designed to consolidate and rehearse the content. Contemporary settings are now favouring curricula that promote competency and performance. Curricula are starting to emphasize capabilities and to be concerned more with how the information will be used than with what the information is. Contemporary ICTs are able to provide strong support for all these requirements and there are now many outstanding examples of world class settings for competency and performance-based curricula that make sound use of the affordances of these technologies (Oliver, 2000). The integration of information and communication technologies can help revitalize teachers and students. This can help to improve and develop the quality of education by providing curricular support in difficult subject areas. To achieve these objectives, teachers need to be involved in collaborative projects and development of intervention change strategies, which would include teaching partnerships with ICT as a tool. According to Zhao and Cziko (2001) three conditions are necessary for teachers to introduce ICT into their classrooms: teachers should believe in the effectiveness of technology, teachers should believe that the use of technology will not cause any disturbances, and finally teachers should believe that they have control over technology. However, research studies show that most teachers do not make use of the potential of ICT to contribute to the quality of learning environments, although they value this potential quite significantly. Harris (2002) conducted case studies in three primary and three secondary schools, which focused on innovative pedagogical practices involving ICT. Harris (2002) concludes that the benefits of ICT will be gained “…when confident teachers are willing to explore new opportunities for changing their classroom practices by using ICT. As a consequence, the use of ICT will not only enhance learning environments but also prepare next generation for future lives and careers (Wheeler, 2001). Changed pool of teachers will come changed responsibilities and skill sets for future teaching involving high levels of ICT and the need for more facilitative than didactic teaching roles (Littlejohn et al., 2002).

According to Cabero (2001), “the flexibilization time-space accounted for by the integration of ICT into teaching and learning processes contributes to increase the interaction and reception of information. Such possibilities suggest changes in the communication models and the teaching and learning methods used by teachers, giving way to new scenarios which favour both individual and collaborative learning”. The use of ICT in educational settings, by itself acts as a catalyst for change in this domain. ICTs by their very nature are tools that encourage and support independent learning. Students using ICTs for learning purposes become immersed in the process of learning and as more and more students use computers as information sources and cognitive tools (Reeves & Jonassen, 1996), the influence of the technology on supporting how students learn will continue to increase. In the past, the conventional process of teaching has revolved around teachers planning and leading students through a series of instructional sequences to achieve a desired learning outcome. Typically these forms of teaching have revolved around the planned transmission of a body of knowledge followed by some forms of interaction with the content as a means to consolidate the knowledge acquisition. Contemporary learning theory is based on the notion that learning is an active process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring knowledge and that instruction is the process by which this knowledge construction is supported rather than a process of knowledge transmission (Duffy & Cunningham, 1996). In this domain learning is viewed as the construction of meaning rather than as the memorisation of facts. Learning approaches using contemporary ICTs provide many opportunities for constructivist learning through their provision and support for resource-based, student centered settings and by enabling learning to be related to context and to practice (Berge, 1998). As mentioned previously, any use of ICT in learning settings can act to support various aspects of knowledge construction and as more and more students employ ICTs in their learning processes, the more pronounced the impact of this will become. Teachers generate meaningful and engaging learning experiences for their students, strategically using ICT to enhance learning. Students enjoy learning, and the independent enquiry which innovative and appropriate use of ICT can foster. They begin to acquire the important 21st century skills which they will need in their future lives.

2.5       SECURITY THREATS OF ICT AND ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY OF PRINCIPALS

Teacher staffs are affected by both security and safety issues. The security issues are related to information security risks such as identity theft and computer viruses. The e-safety issues includes information security risks as well as the concerns related to both the physical and mental well being of secondary school students whilst interacting with ICT devices, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or cyber-bulling. Cyber-bullying is any bullying behaviour delivered through technology (Atkinson et al., 2009).

The e-safety concerns (Straker et al., 2009, Atkinson et al., 2009) include:

1. Physical effects – such as musculoskeletal discomfort, visual problems and sedentariness
2. Content and online interaction concerns – such as inappropriate content, cyber-bullying, financial security and internet predation

iii.        Personal social impact – such as withdrawal, and addictive use of computers

iv         Identity frauds – where individuals find their details used for fraudulent purposes.

1. Internet attacks – encompassing malware, spam, and other types of problems arising from surfing the internet.

2.5.1    Sources of ICT Security Threats:

1. Human behaviour (human error, negligence, dishonesty, malice)
2. Disasters (natural, fire or equipment failure)
3. Changing political and financial circumstances
4. Lack of training and/or experience
5. Geographic circumstances with sites spread throughout the state.

 

2.5.2    Vulnerabilities are characteristics that may be exploited by a threat. Examples include:

1. Physical and environmental controls around infrastructure (or lack of)
2. Hardware (eg. insufficient maintenance, incorrect installation)
3. Software (eg. application and operating system flaws, poor design and testing)
4. Communications (eg. use of public Internet, plain text communications)
5. Documents (eg. inappropriate storage and disposal, lack of control over copying)

 

1. Personnel (eg. lack of training and security awareness, not adhering to policy and procedures)
2. Procedural (eg. lack of change control or user maintenance procedures).

The threats to be considered can be accidental or intentional, and be passive (leave no evidence of having occurred, eg. the theft of data) or active (involve the alteration of an information asset, its state or method of operation).

2.5.3    Teacher Components of Information and Communication Technology in Educational Sector

1. Student Administration
2. Usage of electronic media by students to apply for admissions
3. Usage of computers for student registration / enrolment

iii.        Availability of timetable / class schedule in electronic form

1. Communication of academic details of students to their parents / guardians through e-media
2. Usage of e-media for notifications regarding hostel accommodation
3. Usage of e-media for notifications regarding transportation

 

2. Staff Administration

Usage of computers for recruitment and work allotment of staff in the institution

1. Automation of attendance and leave management of staff members in the institution

ii          Usage of computers for maintenance of attendance of students

iii.        Communication with staff using e-media

1. e-circulars from the institution regarding official matters

 

3. General Administration
4. Usage of e-media for scheduling / allocation of halls for examinations
5. Usage of e-media for the processing and display of results of students

iii.        Facility for students to make fee payments electronically

 

2.6       ICT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

The school with an ICT infrastructure allows for networked communities, promoting fast pace communication and information sharing. This allows for a less hierarchical and more flexible organisation, creating a new pattern of learning in schools. Principals, who recognise this, know it can make the school more efficient and transformative (Haughey, 2006). The distribution of power develops a learning school that encourages people at all levels to learn from their work, the organisation values learning so that it can transform itself through dealing with change.

 

The approach of supplying ICT resources before training is becoming a popular approach to integrating ICT into teaching and learning. More schools are increasing ICT infrastructure without professional development, such as installing interactive white boards in classrooms so teachers are encouraged to experiment in using them. Teachers learn to use ICT through regular and consistent use.

• Distributive Administration in the Education Sector

Gurr (2004) stated that individual centered administration is no longer appropriate in an ICT rich environment. ICT administration stems from a shared vision involving the support of the whole school community (Hately and Schiller, 2003). ICT allows others to have a greater influence as school administrators. A distributive view of administration is emerging as a result of ICT integration in schools, further adding to the school administration reforms. The principal’s delegation of an ICT administrator promotes the personal belief in the importance of ICT in the school. The ICT administrator as the expert supplies the principal with advice on ICT. The principal, with the support of the ICT administrator and school community, can develop an ICT vision and e-Learning plan, aimed at developing a sustainable direction for ICT in teaching and learning, administration and business of the school organization.

 

The principal who delegates the responsibilities of administration is able to create a learning community where everyone is given an opportunity to contribute to decision making, thus empowering people by allocating ownership to the shared vision. Dubrin, Dalglish and Miller (2006) describe delegation as a major contribution to empowerment. The encouragement of others to lead fosters greater initiative and responsibility.

 

The task to become an effective administrator is to develop administration in others (Hartle and Hobby). Harris (2003) suggests that this redistribution of power within the organization will create conditions where people work together and learn together, leading to a shared purpose and common goal. This notion of distributive administration implies a different power relationship than what currently exists in many schools. The distinctions between administrators and followers may blur as the division of labour is widely dispersed, opening the potential for all teachers to be administrators. Shared decision making, distributed administration and professional learning will motivate and empower others.

 

This principal is able to set a goal for the development of ICT in the school by delegating the promotion and development to an ICT administrator. The principal develops personally as a powerful administrator by leading the reform, without necessarily being the expert. The ICT administrator gains credit for the accomplishment, giving satisfaction and ownership to the direction and decision involved in the shared vision developed by the principal, in collaboration with the school community.

 

2.7       EMPIRICAL REVIEW OF THE STUDY

According to Hossein (2008), “Information and Communication technology provides several facilities and possibilities for educational teachers to do their tasks”. There is a mention that communication and information systems have changed the very nature of higher education, allowing information to be transferred, stored, retrieved, and processed by almost all who work, study or interact with a given institution. The author has also quoted from other research work that there is an increase in managerial effectiveness and efficiency through usage of Information and Communication technologies.

 

Ashish Kumar and Arun Kumar (2005) highlighted the importance of Information Technology (IT) as a modern day techno-management tool that would benefit institutions of higher education in India.

 

Gumala (2005) reported that Spanish and Indian universities have been changing fast due to the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The author has mentioned that user satisfaction is a widely used measure of ICT success. The author has concluded by providing a conceptual model for implementing a good technical system. It is mentioned that ICT is used in administration to support the business strategies and processes of higher education institutions, and a “dynamic new shift occurred in higher education” due to the application of ICT in University administration. This facilitated creation of large and complex institutions that could function with increased efficiency and user-friendliness.

 

It is also mentioned that usage of ICT in higher education administration involves “harnessing for better planning, setting standards, effecting change and monitoring results of the core functions of universities. One of the key conclusions arrived at is that the integration of ICTs in higher education is inevitable.

 

“In the information and technology age, school principals must possess computing capabilities” (Felton, 2006). They should use technology and understand how it can be used effectively in learning, teaching, and  school administration.

 

Stuart (2009) explored the association between ICT competence of school leaders and the intention to master the ICT. Their findings indicated that the principals who perceived themselves as technology leaders have high levels of ICT competence and that they use ICT frequently in their teacher and instructional tasks. In fact, competence in operating a computer and in utilizing software helps school principals to be effective technology leaders (Stuart et al., 2009). Therefore, principals as technology leaders should be fluent in the basics of word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software (Attaran & VanLaar, 2001).

 

Anderson and Dexter (2005) suggested that professional development opportunities should be provided for principals to promote their levels of ICT use and to increase their productivities. In fact, effective training programs help the principals to know and utilize computers for accessing and finding information and new knowledge.

 

Furthermore, it helps them to develop processes for effective decision making and problem solving which eventually result in better accountability. The computer technology proved to be able to markedly improve the role of principals in the educational process. Therefore, it is very important for principals to know how to use new and existing technologies.

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