Stakeholders' Readiness Towards Technology Integration for Out-of-School Time Primary School Learning

Abstract

Successful integration of technology requires readiness of key stakeholders. This paper is an attempt to examine the readiness of stakeholders in education towards integration of technology for Out of School Time (OST) learning in the context of Tanzania’s primary schools. The paper is informed by a model for hastening technology integration in OST learning which was developed by Kiwango (2018). The research was a case study that involved Class Seven pupils (475) and parents (275) as well as subject teachers (77) from nine (9) primary schools in Arusha Region specifically Meru District. The findings show that most of the involved stakeholders demonstrated readiness to take part in assessment and validation of technology needs, along with partnership contracting. This also applied to technology acquisition, deployment and evaluation. Comparatively, teachers showed more inspiration, followed closely by pupils and parents. This indicates that the involved stakeholders could successfully advocate for technology integration in primary schools in the country. This requires similar support from The Government and other education stakeholders with a view to reinforcing the use of educational technology in school curriculum.