Undergradute students’ academic use of the internet in Kenyan public and private universities

Abstract

This study assessed undergraduate Kiswahili students’ use of the internet in searching academic information. The study was conducted in four universities, two public and two private. Specifically, the study sought to know whether undergraduate Kiswahili students’ use of the internet was influenced by gender, age, having a personal computer or prior computer skills. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the Individual Innovativeness theory as postulated by Rodgers. Which states that those individuals who are predisposed to technology would adopt the innovation earlier than those who are less predisposed. The study used descriptive survey method of research, questionnaire and interview schedule. Data was collected from 280 undergraduate students who studied Kiswahili and 8 information communication technology experts from four universities. The data collected was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS software. Descriptive statistics used included frequencies, means and standard deviation. While inferential statistics used was t-test. The t- test was used to establish the difference in means between two groups. The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. This study revealed that there are no significant relationships between gender and undergraduate Kiswahili students’ and their use of the internet for academic purpose. There is no significant relationship between age and undergraduate Kiswahili students’ use of the internet for academic purpose. Nevertheless, there are significant relationships between having a personal computer and undergraduate Kiswahili students’ use of the internet for academic purpose. There is also significant relationship between having prior computer skills and undergraduate Kiswahili students’ use of the internet for academic purpose. In view of these findings, it is recommended, that all students at the universities be provided with personal computers at subsidized prices. It is recommended that Universities should enlarge their Information Technology Centres to cater for students needs.