Effective utilization and maintenance of ICT facilities for quality teaching and learning outcome in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the level of availability and utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities for the attainment of quality learning outcome in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. It also investigated teachers’ and students’ opinions on the constraints, and strategies which could enhance effective utilization and maintenance of ICT facilities. A survey research design was adopted and quantitative technique was used for data collection and analysis. A total of 404 participants comprised 60 teachers and 344 students completed the questionnaire titled “ICT Facilities Utilization and Maintenance Survey Questionnaire (ICTFUMSQ)” in 7 randomly sampled public secondary schools. The reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained, using Cronbach alpha. Four research questions and one hypothesis were formulated. The simple percentage was used to answer the research questions while Pearson correlation statistics was employed to test the hypothesis at p<0.05. The findings indicated that the most commonly used ICT facilities were computer set (46.7%); printer (41.7%); and bulletin board (31%). The results also showed that the relationship between teachers and students on the utilization of ICT facilities was low (r= 0.045, p<0.05). The major constraints identified included shortage of ICT facilities and low capacity of teachers, irregular power supply, inadequate technical support, poor funding and maintenance. The study concluded that the stakeholders in education sector should collaborate to strengthen the institutional capacity in the provision of ICT facilities, and building teachers’ and students’ capacities for effective utilization and maintenance of ICT facilities to achieve better learning outcome in secondary schools.