Integration of Information Communication Technology in Teaching and learning in early learning: A case of Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Integrating Information Communication Technology into curricula with the intent of positively influencing teaching and learning has been in a state of evolution over the past 20 years. The purpose of the study was to establish the integration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning in early learning in Bungoma County, Kenya. The objectives of the study included; to analyse teachers' competency in integration of ICT, to examine the integration of ICT in planning for instruction in early learning, to investigate the integration of ICT in teaching and learning methods, to analyse the integration of ICT in teaching and learning materials and to examine the integration of ICT in the assessment for early learning. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK) by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler has guided the study. The study population included Early Childhood Development (ECD) teachers, education officers in charge of ECD in the county and public primary school headteachers. Simple random sampling was used to obtain 177 ECD teachers, which is 10% of 1,768 ECD teachers from 884 public primary schools in Bungoma County. The study sampled all the nine officers and nine headteachers. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Questionnaire and interview schedules were the main primary data tools for data collection. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in both graphical and tabular formats while qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that ECD centers in Bungoma County have more female teachers than male teachers. The central issue in the integration of ICT into early learning is pegged on the instructors having the requisite ICT training. The findings indicated that most of the ECD teachers in Bungoma county respondents 69.0% of the have not undergone training in ICT training in the past two years. Majority of ECD teachers in Bungoma county 94.4% did not own computer devices and very few schools have computers 26.0% and majority of 74.0% of schools do not have computers for ECD instructors. Findings show that ECD instructors require the integration of ICT components in order to pre-plan and post-plan for instruction (Mean = 3.614, SD = 0.952). Based on interviews, Head Teachers and ECD Education Officers perceived technology as very important in the planning of early year’s education. However, the interview revealed that most teachers were concerned about competing educational responsibilities and their efforts to integrate technology. The findings indicate that ECD teachers in Bungoma County perceive that integration of ICT influences selection of teaching method to be used in the classroom. (Mean = 3.759, SD = 0.919). Findings from this study shows that Schools in Bungoma county do not use diverse set of ICT tools to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information (Mean = 3.904, SD = 1.048). Majority of ECD teachers in Bungoma county 38% use Smartphone in instruction followed by 26% using computers. Other devices such as interactive whiteboard, tablets, video cameras and data projectors are not utilized at all. ECD teachers in Bungoma county indicated that teachers don't use ICT to store learners assessment records (Mean = 4.615, SD = 1.017) and very few of the teachers send learners performance to parents via emails and text messages (Mean = 4.090, SD = 1.035). The study recommends that the government improve the numbers of ICT devices in school to improve on the ratio of the ICT devices per pupil, should facilitate ICT training for teachers and lastly, ensure development of local content to support learning.