Principal's Characteristics: Key Driver to Information Technology Uptake in School Management in Public Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the influence of principals' characteristics on the use of Information Technology in secondary school management in Machakos County. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The target population was the 58 principals and 868 teachers in Machakos County. The sample size was 194 including the 21 principals identified through purposive sampling, and 173 teachers identified through purposive sampling and simple random sampling. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were collected using the questionnaire while qualitative data were collected using the interview schedule. Validity was established through expert judgement, while test-retest method was done to ensure reliability. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics i.e. Mean and Standard deviation were used to analyze quantitative data. Inferential statistics i.e. correlation analysis was done to establish the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Content analysis was done for the qualitative data, and presented through narration and verbatim quotes. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to test the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables of the study at 95% confidence level or at 5% level of significance. The findings revealed that the principals' personality, attitude, ICT skills and the social networks positively influenced the use of IT in school management in Machakos County.