Influence of Information Communication Technology Resources Adequacy and Utilization on Students` Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

Abstract

The study purposed to provide empirical data on the status of Information Communication Technology (ICT) resources in terms of adequacy and utilization and their influence on academic performance in public secondary schools in Kenya. The concern was the large number of students that perpetually performed dismally in national exams and the wide performance variations between schools in the study locale yet investments and level of utilization of ICT resources as well as how this was influencing observed academic performance was not clear. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design and the Context- Inputs – Processes -Outputs (CIPO) model which is a systems theory approach to the determinants of learning outcomes and school effectiveness (Scheerens, 1991,2013). Target population constituted 386 principals,2316 heads of department (HoDs), and 4160 teachers in 386 schools. Sample size was derived from Kothari (2013) formula and constituted 192 principals,330 HoDs and 352 teachers however the fully filled and returned questionnaires were172 for principals ,330 for HoDs and 344 for Teachers. Main data collection method was Principals` questionnaire (r =.89), HoDs` questionnaire (r =.92) and teachers` questionnaire (r =.87). Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected where qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis while quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Due to data non-normality inferential statistics was done by use of Kruskal-Wallis H-test and Mann-Whitney U-test as the non-parametric alternatives to (one-way analysis of variance F-test and independent samples t-test) Findings of the study were that ICT resources investments varied widely between public secondary schools but generally and more perniciously, the level of ICT resource investment was woefully low. Computer availability in schools was the variable that influenced performance with highest effective size as it explained about 13% of the variation in academic achievement in the study area. The level of utilization of ICT resources varied between schools but was generally sub-optimal in most schools. Comparing ICT resource adequacy and level of ICT utilization as explanatory variables for academic achievement, it was found that the effect sizes of some of the ICT resources` level of utilization were higher than those for ICT resource adequacy. This implied that to significantly improve learning outcomes and reduce wide performance variations between schools, focus should not just be to invest in ICT resources adequacy in all the schools but also to ensure that all the ICT resources available in the schools are being optimally utilized.