The Paradox of Ghanaian High School Mathematics Teachers’ Perspectives on ICT Use

Abstract

The paper sought to investigate the perceived use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) of high school mathematics teachers in Ghana. A hundred high school mathematics teachers from 20 public schools,10 each located in the rural and urban areas respectively in the Central region of Ghana, were stratified and used in the study. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The result of the study indicated low levels of perceived knowledge/skills of ICT use by high school mathematics teachers, contrary to their reported high usage levels of ICTs. The findings of the study also indicated that the high school mathematics teachers’ ICT use in a professional related context (instructional delivery, assessment, and professional learning network) was minimal compared to use for social networking, although they seemed to be fully aware of the relevance of using ICT in a professional related manner. Similarly, their reported technical knowledge/skills of ICT were low. Thus, the results of the study suggest that, though the teachers reported high ICT usage, actual usage seems to be at the peripheries. Among other things,  this study has implications for curriculum development and training in Ghana and countries of similar context. It may be necessary for the  Curriculum Research Development Division (CRDD) of the Ghana Education Service in collaboration with the related agencies to explicitly define parameters such as what ICT tools must be used, when they must be used, and how they should be used when reviewing and revising their mathematics teaching curriculum.