Institutional preparedness for the integration of information communication technology in the management of public secondary schools in Tharaka South, Tharaka Nithi county, Kenya

Abstract

Despite the role Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays in improving service delivery, its integration in public secondary schools in Kenya has remained low and limited.The purpose of this study was to investigate institutional preparedness for the integration of information computer technology in the management of public secondary schoolsin Tharaka South District. The objectives of this study were: to investigate whether ICT infrastructure affects the integration of ICT in the management of public secondary school in Tharaka south District, to find out whether funding affect the integration of ICT in the management of public secondary school in Tharaka south District, find out whether skills to manage ICT affect the in integration of in the management of public secondary school in Tharaka South District and to whether institutional policies affect the extent of ICT integration in management of public secondary school in Tharaka south District. The study will be delimited to public secondary schools in Tharaka South District in Tharaka-Nithi County and will adopt a descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was 243 subjects comprising all 23 principals, 230 teachers. The study employed purposive, stratified simple random sampling to select a sample of 125 subjects that comprised 10 principals and 115 teachers. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire that was administered to the principals and, teachers respectively. Data collected using questionnaires was analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely; frequency counts, percentages and means. Data generated from the interview was analyzed and discussed thematically. The study has found that infrastructure, institutional policies, that teacher’ knowledge and skills and funding have a significance influence on integration of information communication technology in the management of public secondary schools in Tharaka south district in Tharaka Nithi County. However, there is need for further study to investigate the attitudes of the teachers and the motivation of the students; and a review of the relationship between the government policies and those of the institutions to establish how complimenting they are in integration of information communication technology in the management of public secondary schools