Exploring The Perceptions and Use of Information and Communication Technology Tools Among High School Mathematics Teachers in The Northern Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study explored the extent to which senior high school mathematics teachers in the Northern Region of Ghana use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning mathematics. A descriptive survey design was employed for the investigation. Using a stratified sampling technique, 20 public high schools in the northern region of Ghana were selected for the study. A simple random sampling was used to select 100 teachers (i.e., 50 teachers from urban and 50 teachers from rural schools) from the 20 schools for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. The findings revealed that the mathematics teachers’ perceived knowledge of the benefits of ICT usage for instructional delivery, assessment, and professional learning networks in mathematics were low compared to their actual usage of the ICTs for the same purposes. The findings suggest that the participants utilize ICTs more for social networking than for instructional delivery, assessment, and professional development in mathematics. Further, the findings showed a positive relationship between the teachers’ perceived knowledge of the benefits of ICTs usage for instructional delivery and their actual use of ICTs for instructional delivery. Mathematics teachers from urban schools use ICTs for all instructional purposes more than their peers from rural schools. Implications for ICT policies, teacher training, and professional development are provided.