ICT Use and Its Challenges in Teaching Secondary School Physics in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

In the past few years, the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders have invested a lot in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary school education which was aimed at enhancing pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning. ICT enables Educational Institutions and other organisations to use technology to complement and support the teaching and learning process. However, despite much advocacy for ICT use in teaching and learning, much investment and huge donations of ICT facilities to schools, the learning process has not been adequately transformed to provide students with the skills to function effectively in the present environment which is information-rich and dynamic. This study was aimed at determining the extent to which Physics teachers used ICT in their teaching in public and private secondary schools in Mombasa County. The second goal was to identify challenges involved in the use of ICT in the teaching of Physics and seek possible solutions to the challenges. The data for this research was collected through administering questionnaires to 148 Physics teachers in both public and private secondary schools, and interviewing three (3) ICT champions in the county. The quantitative data which was based on the Likert Scale was analysed using SPSS computer software (version 20) while the qualitative data was analysed using the Bryman's Four Stage Qualitative Analysis. Our findings reveal that there is low integration of ICT in teaching and learning of Physics in most secondary schools in Mombasa County due low-quality ICT resources and poor maintenance culture. Also, it was found that adoption of ICT in teaching and learning of Physics enhances students' academic performance. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that the government and education stakeholders should avail better quality ICT resources to secondary schools and ensure proper maintenance of ICT facilities. The government should also encourage training of teachers on ICT skills in their teaching subjects from the college level.

In the past few years, the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders have invested a lot in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary school education which was aimed at enhancing pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning. ICT enables Educational Institutions and other organisations to use technology to complement and support the teaching and learning process. However, despite much advocacy for ICT use in teaching and learning, much investment and huge donations of ICT facilities to schools, the learning process has not been adequately transformed to provide students with the skills to function effectively in the present environment which is information-rich and dynamic. This study was aimed at determining the extent to which Physics teachers used ICT in their teaching in public and private secondary schools in Mombasa County. The second goal was to identify challenges involved in the use of ICT in the teaching of Physics and seek possible solutions to the challenges. The data for this research was collected through administering questionnaires to 148 Physics teachers in both public and private secondary schools, and interviewing three (3) ICT champions in the county. The quantitative data which was based on the Likert Scale was analysed using SPSS computer software (version 20) while the qualitative data was analysed using the Bryman's Four Stage Qualitative Analysis. Our findings reveal that there is low integration of ICT in teaching and learning of Physics in most secondary schools in Mombasa County due low-quality ICT resources and poor maintenance culture. Also, it was found that adoption of ICT in teaching and learning of Physics enhances students' academic performance. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that the government and education stakeholders should avail better quality ICT resources to secondary schools and ensure proper maintenance of ICT facilities. The government should also encourage training of teachers on ICT skills in their teaching subjects from the college level.