Integration of Information and Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning and Its Influence on Students’ Performance in Public Secondary Schools In Gezawa Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Many countries around the world have fully integrated ICT into their educational systems. The expansion of ICT use in educational settings has sparked a rush of research papers examining the link between ICT and academic performance. In Nigeria's education sector, ICT is being employed in secondary schools. However, their use in teaching and learning has remained sporadic. The purpose of this study was to examine the integration of ICT in teaching and learning and its influence on students’ performance in public secondary schools in Gezawa area of Kano State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four objectives; to find out the availability of ICT infrastructure and their influence on students’ performance; to determine teachers’ attitude towards integration of ICT in teaching and learning and their influence on students’ performance; to establish teachers’ competence on ICT and their influence on students’ performance; and determine school support on ICT integration and their influence on students’ performance. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by Venkatesh, Davis, and Morris (2003) were used to guide the study. The sample size consisted of 152 teachers and 297 students from 16 schools. Questionnaires for teachers and document analysis for students were used to collect data in this study. Descriptive statistics included frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviation, whereas inferential statistics involved Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient, factor and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study revealed a weak negative relationship (r=-.068, p>.05) between availability and student’s performance, a significant positive relationship (r=.178, p<.05) between teacher’s attitude towards ICT integration and student’s performance, a weak negative relationship (r=-.021, p>.05) between teachers’ competence on ICT and students’ performance, and a weak positive relationship (r=.023, p>.05) but insignificant at .05 between school support on ICT integration and students’ performance. Regression results gave a coefficient determination of R2 = .042 which means 4.2% variation in students’ performance can be explained by the four predictor variables combined. It can be concluded that availability of ICT infrastructure and teachers’ competence on ICT were negative for students’ performance, while teachers’ attitude and school support on ICT integration were positive for students’ performance. The researcher recommends that the government through the Ministry of Education should provide enough ICT resources to secondary schools, ensure more in service training, and incorporate ICT training in all teacher training courses. Besides ICT awareness and integration strategies should be prioritized by school managers to arouse and maintain positive staffs’ attitudes and ensure utilization of available resources as they were significant for students’ performance. This would help secondary schools in their long-term, continuous efforts for the integration of ICT and its improvement thereby raising students’ performance.