Challenges to the Teaching of ICT Related Courses in Office Technology and Management Programmes In Colleges of Education

Abstract

The study focused on the challenges to the teaching of ICT-related courses in OTM programmes of Colleges of Education in Katsina and Kano States. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The design of the study was a survey design. The population of the study comprised one hundred and seventy-seven (177) lecturers in the Department of Business Education in the Colleges of Education in Katsina and Kano States. There was no sampling. The entire population was studied. A structured questionnaire duly validated and with reliability coefficient of 0.95 was used for data collection. One hundred and seventy-seven copies of the questionnaire were administered on the respondents. All the copies were accurately completed and returned. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 confidence level. The results of the study showed that the challenges to teaching of ICT related courses in Office Technology and Management (OTM) programmes in colleges of education are teaching facilities and human resources related. It was also found that there is a significant difference between the mean responses of male and female lecturers on teaching facilities related challenges to the teaching of ICT-related courses in OTM programmes in Colleges of Education. In addition, it was found that there is a significant difference in the mean response of lecturers on human resources-related challenges to the teaching of ICT-related courses in OTM programmes in Colleges of Education based on ownership. The implication is that OTM education graduates may not be relevant in this era of ICT if these challenges are not well tackled by the management of colleges of education. It was recommended, among others, that management in colleges of Education should provide adequate ICT teaching facilities and adequate human resources for effective implementation of OTM programmes. Government should provide adequate funding to enable effective provision of teaching facilities and appropriate mix of the quality and quantity of human resources needed for the effective implementation of ICT related programmes in OTM in the colleges of education.