Abstract
The
study investigated the level of Skills Proficiency and ICT Integration in
Teacher education. The research design adopted was the Descriptive survey
design. The study population was the entire student population of the faculty
of education, University of Lagos–Akoka. The total study population was
stratified into 80 junior undergraduates, 80 senior undergraduates and 80 post
graduate students from various departments of the faculty of Education. A self
structured questionnaire containing both open ended and closed items was used
for data collection. The data obtained was analyzed by answering three research
questions and testing three hypotheses. After a careful analysis of the data,
the results show that: Students were more proficient in the use of MS Word,
Internet search tools and E-mail application tools but weaker in the use of
IWB, MS Excel, and SPSS application tools. ICT Skills Proficiency is
independent of students’ academic level, Exposure to Teaching practice and the
type of study programme in the faculty of Education. The most integrated ICT
application tools are Internet Search tools, Microsoft Word and E-mail while
the least integrated application tools are IWB, MS Excel and SPSS. Avery strong
positive correlation was established between skills proficiency and the pattern
of ICT integration in the faculty of Education.
The study recommended that the use of MS Excel, IWB and SPSS application
tools should be better better integrated into the Teacher Education programmes
through Curriculum content, Assignments, Teaching practicum and Lesson presentation in order to improve the
effectiveness of ICT integration in Teacher Education. Finally Lecturers and in
service teachers within the educational system should be motivated to adopting
ICTs during classroom lessons.
TABLE
OF CONTENT
Pages
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of contents vi
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1Background to the
problem 1
1.2 Statement of the
problem 4
1.3 Purpose of the
study 5
1.4 Research Questions 5
1.5 Research Hypotheses 6
1.6 Significance of the study 6
1.7 Scope of the study 7
1.8 Delimitation 9
1.9
Definition of Terms 9
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Introduction 11
2.2
Application of ICT in Education 11
2.3
Teacher Education and the Use of Technology 14
2.4
Matching Basic ICT skills with School Tasks 15
2.5
Stages of ICT integration in Teacher Education 16
2.6
Benefits of ICT integration in Teacher Education 17
2.7 Steps in achieving ICT proficiency
in Teacher Education 18
2.8 Building students ICT in Teacher
Education expertise 19
2.9 Concerns Teachers have about the use
of ICT 21
2.10 Previous researches (Canada,
Australia, Asia and Nigeria) 23
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Design 26
3.2 Area of study 26
3.3 Population 26
3.4 Sample and sampling
procedure 27
3.5 Instrument of data
collection 28
3.6 Validation of the
instrument 29
3.7 Reliability of the
instrument 29
3.8 Method of data
collection 30
3.9 Method of data
analysis 30
CHAPTER FOUR:
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction 32
4.2 Demographic
Characteristics of Participants 32
4.3 Answers to Research
Questions 34
4.4 Testing of Research
Hypothesis 39
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary of Findings 43
5.2 Discussion of
Findings 45
5.3 Implication of
findings for policy 48
5.4 Implication of
findings for practice 48
5.5 Conclusions 49
5.6 Recommendations 50
5.7 Suggestions for
Further Research 51
References
Appendix I
Appendix II
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the problem
Change
is commonly said to be the most permanent thing in the world because of its
inevitability. The world itself is not static. So also all the activities of
human endeavour keep on changing. Education is not left out of the phenomena
that change with time either in policy formulation, implementation or
operation. We are currently in the age of advanced Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT). The world has become a global village. This
makes what goes on in any part of the world known and accessible to the rest of
the world. Teaching and learning are global phenomenon.
Acquisition
of relevant knowledge comes via effective teaching and learning. In this world
of advanced ICTs, teaching and learning cannot be adequately effective without
the use of ICTs in schools. Rai (2006) said that new information and
communication technologies are changing the world we live in and the way we
learn to live .According to him, ICT changes teaching and learning through its
potential as a source of knowledge, a medium to transmit content, a means of
interaction and dialogue. Thus, in Rai’s (2006) view ICT is both a cause of
change and a means of achieving change, especially in education.
Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of our daily lives
for the last five decades. The dramatic adaptation of ICT has in turn called
for education reforms at various levels with a view to creating an enabling
educational environment for the next generations to effectively function in the
digital era. Therefore, teachers’ capacity of integrating ICT into their
teaching practices plays a critical role in achieving the goals of the
education reform. In this regard, teacher education institutions (TEIs) have
made great efforts to develop a new ICT curriculum (or course) or incorporate
ICT components into their existing curriculum.
Also, UNESCO realizes
that any educational reform of a country means little without the support of
those at the heart of education, and so teacher development is at the core of
such programmes. However, professional development of teachers can not be seen
in isolation, but should be considered in the context of the broader
educational reform, involving the development of supportive policy,
infrastructure and curriculum.
Although, schools are known to be resistant to innovation and
change (Kearsley, 2004), the proliferation of ICT is beginning to affect how
teachers teach (Reid, 2002). One of the current issues about the use of ICT in
Nigerian schools is the disparity in the use of ICT between private and public
schools.
Despite
an increasing emphasis on computer education in the Nigerian curriculum at all
levels since the nineties; the maximum impact of ICT on Education is yet to be
achieved.
The
problem can be adduced to several factors such as inadequate skilled personnel,
mismatch in curriculum, poor policies implementation, poor financing and lack
of infrastructure.
Since the curriculum documents provide
arguments for introducing ICT in the school setting, schools expect that
graduates from teacher education programs have a reasonable knowledge of how to
use ICT (Montgomerie & Irvine, 2001). However, this may not be the case as
is noted by Oren, Mioduser, and Nachmias (2002), who argue that most current teachers’ pre-service preparation and subsequent
in-service courses were devised in reference to traditional educational
technology and settings. … Thus, the participants in these courses are not
familiar with the processes, interaction patterns, features and possibilities
of technology-mediated educational transactions. (Implications of these
studies,
In
order to substantiate this claim by Oren, Mioduser and Nachmias (2002) that
current teacher’s pre-service preparation and subsequent in-service courses
were devised in reference to traditional educational technology settings, this
study is aimed at assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of ICT integration
into teacher education.
1.2 Statement of the problem
This
research serves as an evaluative tool and an assessment of ICT integration into
the Teacher Training Programme at the faculty of Education, University of
Lagos.
It
has been observed that most graduate teachers in Nigeria lack the skills to
cope in a modern work environment. This situation often results in the creation
of skills gap in the labour market. Also, there is often an emphasis on
quantitative expansion in education; whereby more schools are built by the
government, but there is often no corresponding increase in the quality of
teachers and educational facilities.
What compounds this issue even more is
that although the students who were born in or after 1982 belong to the “Net
Generation,” and are accustomed to operating in a digital environment for
communication, information gathering and analysis (Oblinger, 2004), they
typically lack information literacy skills, and their critical thinking skills
are often weak (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). The problem is that students
“do not necessarily understand how their use of technology affects their literacy
or habits of learning” (Barnes, Marateo & Ferris, 2007, Independence,
Autonomy, and Learning, ¶).
Therefore,
as knowledge experts, teacher educators must as a matter of necessity keep
abreast with current inventors, research network and innovation in the world of
education.
This knowledge can only be enhanced through adequate utilization of ICT
resources.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The
purpose of this research is to determine the level of Skills competence and ICT
integration into teacher education programme at the faculty of Education,
University of Lagos. Relevant data will be obtained from primary and secondary
sources. The study hopes to achieve the following:
i.
Find out the level of basic ICT skills
proficiency in students during the Teacher Training programme in the faculty of
Education.
ii.
Investigate the pattern of ICT
integration into various programmes at the faculty of Education.
iii.
Find out if any correlation exists
between Skills Proficiency and the level of ICT Integration in the faculty of
Education.
1.4 Research Questions
The following questions will be researched:
·
How proficient are Students in the use
of basic ICT application soft-wares?
·
How do lecturers help to integrate ICT
into Teacher Training Progarammes?
·
Is there any correlation between students’
Skills proficiency and the level of ICT integration in the faculty of
Education?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
In
order to find out the level of skills competence and ICT integration in various
programmes at the Faculty of Education, the following hypotheses will be tested
in this study:
1) Ho:
There is no significant relationship between students’ ICT proficiency and
their academic level.
2) Ho:
There is no significant relationship between ICT proficiency and exposure to
Teaching practice during the undergraduate programme (Groups 1 & 2).
3) Ho:
There is no significant relationship between ICT proficiency and the type of
study programme in the faculty of Education (G3 & G2)
1.6
Significance of the study
The
researcher hopes that the findings of the study will benefit the following
bodies in the following ways:
Ø Students:
To promote self efficacy amongst student teachers in acquiring ICT skills.
Ø Teacher
educators: To project relevant ICT skills needed for ICT curriculum delivery.
Ø Employers:
To help bridge the ICT skills gap in the teaching profession for both local and
international labour market.
Ø Graduate
teachers: To sensitize newly qualified teachers about relevant ICT skills
necessary for the labour market
Ø Administrators:
To highlight some of the weaknesses associated with ICT Integration in Teacher
Education.
Ø Teacher
Educators: to serve as a needs assessment report on ICT skills development in
Teacher education.
1.7 Scope of the study
Teacher
education is offered in various institutions such as Colleges of Education,
Universities, Technical Colleges, On the Job training and other In-service
programmes. These programmes vary in their content and duration and are
designed to be relevant to various levels of the educational system. The faculties
of education in the Nigerian universities offer both undergraduate and
postgraduate teacher education programmes which are aimed at improving teaching
and learning across various levels of the educational system.
Thus,
the scope of this study is the Undergraduate, Post graduate Diplomas and
Master’s in Education programmes including those enrolled as full time and
part- time students in the faculty of Education, University of Lagos.
Students
enrolled in the Undergraduate programme take two ICT courses, each in the first
and second year respectively. The Undergraduates undergo their teaching
practicum in the third year. By the end of the fourth year, they prepare to
round up and submit their research project.
For
the Post Graduate Diploma programme, students take one ICT course in the first
semester and their teaching practicum in the second semester.
Master’s
students in the faculty are expected to have gone through some ICT training and
their teaching practicum as undergraduates or postgraduate diploma students.
Thus,
the scope of the study is the total population of students enrolled in the
faculty of Education, University of Lagos-Akoka.
The
dependent and out-put variable is the level Skills proficiency while the
independent and input variable is the level of Integration of basic ICT
application soft wares at the faculty of education, University of Lagos-Akoka.
1.8 Delimitation
In
the course of carrying out this research, the study has some limitation that
must be taken into account when interpreting the results and designing future
studies. There was no actual skills test administered on the participants.
Skills competence was based on self assessment of the participant. It is possible
that some participant over scored or underscored their level of competence in
the use of the various ICT software application.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Information Communication
Technology
ICT
in this study refers to a range of technologies that are applied in the process
of collecting, storing, editing, retrieving and transferring of information in
various forms.
ICT
includes both soft ware and hard ware that are employed for educational
purposes.
Skills Competence in ICT
The
concept of Skills competence in this study refers to the extent to which a
potential user can manipulate an ICT gadget and the corresponding software.
ICT Integration in Teacher
Education
ICT
integration refers to how ICT is applied for various educational purposes such
as:
Classroom
interaction, Lecture presentation, Assignments and Document preparation,
Communication
and various Researches that take place during the Teacher Education programmes.
A description of Teacher Education
Teacher
Education refers to various programmes that have been designed for the
development and production of teachers in various tertiary institutions of
Nigeria.
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