An investigation of the Effective use of ICT Facilities in Teachers' Training Colleges: A Case of Eregi and Kaimosi Teachers' Training Colleges in Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective use of information and commu- nicationt echnology (lCT) facilities in Eregi and Kaimosi Teachers' Training Colleges. leT is an integral resource in educational institutions and a considerable financial and human investment has gone into its integration in Primary Teacher Education but the ef- fective use of ICT facilities is of concern, taking into account the close relationship that seem to exist between ICT use and the performance of the rest of the subjects. The spe- cific objectives of the study were to establish the lecturers' level of education at Eregi and Kaimosi Teachers' Training Colleges (TTCs) in relation to ICT use; toinvestigate the lecturers' professional training in ICT at Eregi and Kaimosi TTCs; to assess the ICT uses at Eregi and Kaimosi TTCs; to assess the perception of students' and lecturers' use of ICT service at Eregi and Kaimosi TTCs; to evaluate the reaction of students in using leT in teaching at Eregi and Kaimosi TTCs. The study was guided by Matching Person to Technology Model advanced by Scherer (1986). Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The research methodology was both qualitative and quantitative. The target population for the study was 2,327, involving 133 lecturers, 2178 students and 16 Heads of Department in both colleges. A total of233 respondents drawn from the two colleges were randomly sampled to participate in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select the senior Heads of Department to be interviewed. For the students, nominal rolls were used as sampling frames for respondents. The study used questionnaires and an interview schedule as instruments of data collection. Data collected were analysed quanti- tatively and qualitatively. Descriptive statistics used were frequencies, percentages and mean. Inferential statistics such as Chi Square, and Kruskal-Wallis were used to test hy- potheses. The findings were presented using pie charts, bar charts, tables and narrative discussions. The findings from the study indicated that ICT facilities in the two colleges were not effectively used. Several reasons can be advanced for this phenomenon. These include: the unbalanced availability of ICT resources in the different sections of the col- leges; shortage of ICT personnel; limited technical knowhow of lecturers in matters of ICT; and low perception levels of the roles of ICT in education. It was concluded that these two teachers' training colleges are yet to fully appreciate the merits associated with the full uptake of ICTs. The study recommends that the government should set up an ICT board at the KIE to track and supervise the equipping of colleges with ICTs; set up a spe- cial fund from the CDF kitty to facilitate the purchase of ICT facilities; make ICT as a course both compulsory and examinable at all levels in the education sector; and improve the ICT capacities of lecturers.