National Information And Communication Technology Policy Research Articles

Towards Learning Excellence in Universities: A Critical Review of Information and Communication Technology Policies in Education in Kenya

The current reality is that technological advancement has shaped how learning is being conducted in education. Communication technology has been embraced in education by both educators and learners. However, the embracement has been slow, and this was experienced during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, when teaching and learning had to shift and relied heavily on communication technology, but in actuality educational institutions were not ready. The virus continues to linger on and has served as a wake-up call for the education sector. This therefore makes Information and Communication Technology (ICT) an essential component in education today, not only to be implemented during crises, but also due to technological advancement and stakeholders’ needs in the current times. Governments have made efforts to integrate ICT in education, as is the case in Kenya. This paper reviews the National ICT policy in Kenya since its formulation in 2006 and its revision in 2019. These two policies were national, and education was integrated into the policies. However, in 2021, an additional policy on ICT in education and training was formulated and will also be analysed in this study. The paper analyses the strategies and implementation in higher learning institutions and outlines the barriers and challenges experienced in its implementation. Accessibility and equity have been pinpointed as some of the major factors influencing ICT integration. As higher learning institutions focus on blended or hybrid learning, ICT becomes a fundamental tool to facilitate education. The paper makes recommendations based on the policy inadequacies and how to focus on ICT in education for future meaningful impact.

Digital-Based Policy and Health Promotion Policy in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand: A Scoping Review of Policy Paths to Healthy Aging

People are living longer, and our life has become more digital. Hence, the benefits from digital technology, including economic growth, increasing labor productivity, and ensuring health equity in the face of an aging population emerged as a vital topic for countries around the world. Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Singapore, and Thailand are in the top ten rankings in terms of information and communication technology (ICT) development within the Asia Pacific Region and all are facing challenges of population aging. Well-designed national ICT policy and health promotion policies enabled the countries to make significant progress and development in terms of digitalization and healthy aging. This paper aims to answer questions regarding digitization and health promotion: when it started, how it is going, what are the achievements, and what it holds for the future, considering healthy aging and digitalization by reviewing the national ICT policy and health promotion policies of Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. This paper is expected to help readers build a comprehensive understanding of each country's journey towards building a healthy aging digital society. Furthermore, we hope this paper can be a source for countries to exchange experiences and learn from each other with a joint goal of building a healthy aging digital society.

The Effects of ICT/e-Government on Migrant Workers' Remittance Inflows in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study

This research article has explored and examined the effects of ICT/e-Government measures and some other significant socioeconomic factors on migrant workers’ remittance inflows in Bangladesh; Sustainable development approach is very much related to the economic growth that can be achieved by higher remittance inflows and related factors such as ICT/e-Government measures. So far, the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-Government measures on remittance inflows have not been explored adequately in the case of Bangladesh. The literature review shows the effects of ICT/e-Government along with the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, institutional quality, the number of recruiting agencies, the number of banks and financial institutions, financial development, remittance transaction cost, cash incentives as well as the currency exchange rate on the remittance inflows of Bangladesh. The article has been examined using a mixed methods (MM) approach. Secondary data from the World Bank and other institutions were collected for regression analyses using model equations and SPSS. Additionally, a total of 12 people involved in 12 different organizations were interviewed for collecting qualitative data for the thematic analysis; the analysis was conducted using NVIVO. After testing the hypotheses and after triangulation of quantitative and qualitative studies, it has been found that the use of ICT/e-Government measures and some other factors have significant positive effects on the remittance inflows of Bangladesh. Nonetheless, the effects of the number of recruiting agencies and remittance transaction cost on the remittance inflows did not resonate with the research hypotheses. Research findings show that the National ICT Policy and Overseas Employment Policy may also play roles in remittance inflows.

Access to electronic court records in Botswana

Governments all over the world are using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable the delivery of their programmes more effectively and efficiently and to increase the participation of the citizens in their governance through their e-government initiatives. The main purpose of this study was to explore issues of access to electronic case files at the Gaborone Magisterial District. Since 2005, the Department of Administration of Justice (AOJ) in Botswana has implemented an electronic Court Records Management System (CRMS) to manage case file records at the high courts and magistrates’ courts of Botswana as one of the government’s public sector reforms to improve service delivery at the courts. This study used both the quantitative and qualitative approaches with data collected through a questionnaire, document review, interviews with respondents and observation of respondents at the Gaborone Magisterial District as well as at justice stakeholders, which are Department of Public Prosecutions and the Department of Prisons and Rehabilitation. The questionnaire was supplemented with interviews. The study used the Records Continuum Model as lens to examine how electronic case files were used and accessed through the CRMS. The findings of the study revealed inadequate legislation on the management of electronic case files in Botswana. Challenges such as network disruptions, shortage of computers, resistance to change, training and a lack of commitment by staff affected access to court records on the CRMS. The study also established that access to electronic case files was limited to court personnel only. The study recommends the adoption of relevant policies and the provision of adequate infrastructure and remote access to electronic court records by the public and other stakeholders in the justice system in Botswana. Failure to provide online access to court records goes against the spirit of the Botswana National ICT policy and the National Vision 2036, which advocates for digital access to information and community access through the use of ICTs.

Access to electronic court records in Botswana

Governments all over the world are using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable the delivery of their programmes more effectively and efficiently and to increase the participation of the citizens in their governance through their e-government initiatives. The main purpose of this study was to explore issues of access to electronic case files at the Gaborone Magisterial District. Since 2005, the Department of Administration of Justice (AOJ) in Botswana has implemented an electronic Court Records Management System (CRMS) to manage case file records at the high courts and magistrates’ courts of Botswana as one of the government’s public sector reforms to improve service delivery at the courts. This study used both the quantitative and qualitative approaches with data collected through a questionnaire, document review, interviews with respondents and observation of respondents at the Gaborone Magisterial District as well as at justice stakeholders, which are Department of Public Prosecutions and the Department of Prisons and Rehabilitation. The questionnaire was supplemented with interviews. The study used the Records Continuum Model as lens to examine how electronic case files were used and accessed through the CRMS. The findings of the study revealed inadequate legislation on the management of electronic case files in Botswana. Challenges such as network disruptions, shortage of computers, resistance to change, training and a lack of commitment by staff affected access to court records on the CRMS. The study also established that access to electronic case files was limited to court personnel only. The study recommends the adoption of relevant policies and the provision of adequate infrastructure and remote access to electronic court records by the public and other stakeholders in the justice system in Botswana. Failure to provide online access to court records goes against the spirit of the Botswana National ICT policy and the National Vision 2036, which advocates for digital access to information and community access through the use of ICTs.

Information and Communication Technologies in A Postgraduate TESOL Program: A Human Capital Investment

With the global advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the national and international demand for well-developed ICT skills and competencies, academic programs at higher education institutions need to make necessary adjustments to content and processes. This study reports on the current ICT integration practices in a TESOL postgraduate program at a Saudi Arabian university, addressing viewpoints at administrative, faculty, and postgraduate student levels. Three different questionnaires were used to answer the following questions: What are the TESOL postgraduate students’ practices of ICT integration, and how do they perceive their professors’ practices? What ICT integration practices do faculty members use, and how do they perceive the merit and desirability of their practices? And ‘How is ICT integration tackled at the administrative level with respect to policy and procedures, infrastructure, training, and technical support? The findings indicate that ICT integration practices in this program are lagging expectations. This is not a matter of attitude, potential, and challenges in the current situation, but is related to understanding the national ICT policy and developing sustainable strategies at an institutional level to guide and support faculty members’ practices. Since the impact of such changes will go beyond higher education to the broader national education system, much more attention needs to be dedicated to teacher education and professional development programs, including TESOL postgraduate programs.

How influences of external actors affect Information and Communication Technology policy formation in developing countries: case of Malawi

ABSTRACT This paper examines the case of Malawi to argue that external actors’ overt influences during Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy formulation may result in policies that are hardly implemented. In Malawi, external actors brought templates, provided financial and technical support and developed the policy with minimum involvement of local actors. We employed Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice to examine the effect of the influences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis on selected policy documents from Malawi. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Content analysis, applied to policy documents from Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda and South Africa, supplemented the investigation. We make two contributions related to national ICT policies in Africa. First, policies developed without involving local stakeholders are hardly implemented. Second, the study extends the application of Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice in the ICT policy domain to show that the influences of external actors during ICT policymaking result in power imbalances in their favor. Through provision of economic, social and cultural capital, external actors dominate local actors during policymaking. The finding offers governments and stakeholders of public policy important insights into how they can effectively manage external actors during policymaking.

ICT Integration in Secondary School Physics and Teachers’ Attitude Towards Using ICT in Teaching Physics in Mombasa County, Kenya

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides an opportunity for Educational Institutions and other organisations to harness and use technology to complement and support the teaching and learning process. However, despite the enormous advocacy for ICT-aided teaching and learning, investment and donation of ICT equipment to schools, there is a challenge on how to transform students learning process to provide students with the skills to function effectively in this information-rich and dynamic environment. Unless ICT is effectively integrated in teaching and learning, the investment for the development of ICT in schools will be wasted. The school curriculum may also fail to achieve its mission to produce learners who are ready for the world of work, which is increasingly reliant on ICT- aided generation and dissemination of knowledge. This study was aimed at finding out the extent of ICT integration in secondary school Physics and the teachers’ attitude towards the using ICT in teaching Physics. Further. The study also assessed the extent to which the National ICT policy on education has been implemented in Mombasa County. It also assessed the teachers attitude towards teaching Physics using ICT. The study was done through administering questionnaires to 148 Physics teachers in public and private secondary schools, and conducting interviews with three (3) ICT champions in the county. The quantitative data based on a Likert Scale was analysed with the aid of the SPSS computer software (version 20) while the qualitative data was analysed using the Bryman’s Four Stage Qualitative Analysis. Keywords : Information and Communication Technology, Attitude. DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-27-04 Publication date :September 30 th 2019

Developing a Taxonomy for Identifying Stakeholders in National ICT Policy Implementation

Information and communication technology (ICT) policies attract different stakeholders in the policy cycle phases. Whilst most studies on stakeholder analysis focuses on identifying stakeholders at the beginning of the policy process (ex-ante), we argue that stakeholders may change during the course of the policy process and hence the need to review previous policy stakeholders and identify new stakeholders in the subsequent phases of the policy process. The article proposes a taxonomy of ex-post stakeholder identification for ICT policy implementation phase. The taxonomy comprises the following steps for identifying stakeholders: categorise policy goals, list stakeholders, decide on stakeholders, categorise stakeholders, assign roles to stakeholders, highlight participation of stakeholders, manage stakeholders, and evaluate stakeholders. The taxonomy may be used by those responsible for recruiting stakeholders in the ICT policy implementation.

How and Why

While African governments have developed information and communication technologies (ICTs) policies, there is still missing historical insights on how contextual issues shaped the formulation process in the context of developing countries. This paper analysed the formulation for national ICT policy of Malawi between 2001 and 2012. Historical approach was used where archival data was used to understand key events, contextual issues, and activities that shaped the formulation of the policy. The findings showed that there were external influences leading to the formulation of the national ICT policy. The local needs of stakeholders were not articulated adequately to come up with realistic policy objectives. Further, there were more pressing local issues that led to the policy being not prioritised and endorsed by the government administrations leading to the delays in policy formulation. The study offers insights that can assist for policymakers and practitioners when developing similar policies such as the national broadband policy and national cyber-security policy.

National ICT policy challenges for developing countries: a grounded theory informed literature review

This paper presents a review of the literature on the challenges of national information and communication technology (ICT) policies in the context of African countries. National ICT policies have been aligned with socio-development agendas of African countries. However, the policies have not delivered the expected outcomes due to many challenges. Studies have been conducted in isolation to highlight the challenges in the policy process. The study used grounded theory informed literature review to holistically analyse the problems in the context of African countries. The results were categorised in the typology of the policy process to understand the challenges from a broad perspective. The problems were categorised into agenda setting, policy formulation, legal frameworks, implementation and evaluation. In addition, there were constraints related to policy monitoring in the policy phases and imbalance of power among the policy stakeholders. The review suggests areas of further research.

Where learners' and teachers' perceptions on mobile learning meet: A case of Namibian secondary schools in the Khomas region

Globally, most governments have devoted resources to information and communication technology (ICT) development. Their goal is to improve teaching and learning using innovative technology in institutions of learning. This has brought about the formulation of educational ICT policies. These policies are aimed at guiding the implementation processes in schools. Namibia adopted the National ICT policy for Education in 2005 and the National ICT Policy Implementation Plan in 2006. Based on information, since the adoption of the policy, no study has been done to evaluate the implementation process, thereby making it difficult to ascertain the readiness of teachers and learners towards the adoption of these technologies of which mobile learning technology is one of them. This study analyses the perception of teachers and learners towards the adoption of mobile learning in Namibian high schools. The research is a mixed method study, undertaking surveys and interviews with learners and teachers from three schools in the Khomas region. The study uses the UTAUT as a guiding model to analyse teacher and learner perceptions towards mobile learning. Data collected after survey were analyzed using SPSS and excel tools, and then percentage analysis was done to find the key contributors towards to adoption of mobile learning in Namibian high schools. The findings were that the majority of teachers and learners in Namibian high schools are mobile ICT literate. Most of teachers and learners own handheld mobile devices, can access the internet, download education material and applications from the internet using mobile devices, use mobile devices as calculators, access social networking sites, search for definitions of words on mobile, send emails, conduct searches for material, read assignments and post comments on blogs. Both teachers and learners were positive that mobile technology would enhance their teaching and learning capabilities, assist in improving learner grades and accomplish teaching and learning activities quickly. Although learners were positive that mobile education should be made compulsory in schools, they feel that the decision lies with policy makers on whether schools should adopt it. Both learners and teachers feel that Namibia has the resources in place to introduce mobile learning without any glitches. These resources are in the form of infrastructure and human resources.

Ex-Post Stakeholder Analysis of National ICT Policy Subsystem

This paper presents an analysis of stakeholders of the national Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy subsystem using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The study focused on the context of a developing country, Malawi, which was analysed using qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews and policy documents. The findings showed there was diversity in the stakeholders for national ICT policy who were engaged in different roles of the policy process despite being a unitary policy subsystem. The stakeholders included officials from government departments, donors, academia, private sector organisations, the media, law enforcement agents and telecom operators. Some of the roles of the stakeholders were related to policy formulation, implementation, regulation, ICT investment, and support. The study contributes towards the literature of national ICT policy in the context of developing countries. A further study is recommended to consider the interests of informal stakeholders not represented in the national ICT policy subsystem.

Digital literacy in Ugandan teacher education: Insights from a case study

This case study investigated the relationship between policy and practice with regard to advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Ugandan teacher education. Our qualitative study, conducted in 2008, focused on the experiences of six language teacher educators in an urban Primary Teachers’ College (PTC). We also drew on insights from an interview with the then Ugandan Minister of ICT, Doctor Ham-Mukasa Mulira and the national ICT policy. Whilst the Minister expressed the hope that technology would transform Ugandan education, our findings suggest that the success of ICT initiatives depends largely on whether local conditions support such initiatives. Despite their enthusiasm for digital technology, the participants were challenged by the expense of Internet connectivity, inadequate training, power outages, and culturally irrelevant material. We suggest that ICT policy should address teacher educators’ use of digital technology across diverse sites, and that innovations such as the eGranary portable digital library might be particularly useful in poorly resourced educational institutions.

Gender and National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policies in Africa

This chapter discusses the importance of incorporating gender aspects into the national ICT policies in Africa. The mention of gender issues in national ICT policies in Africa is still very scanty (where they exist). Many countries in Africa have no clear gender aspects incorporated into their national ICT policies. The chapter focuses on the imperativeness of ICTs to the livelihood of women in Africa, the need and urgency of increasing and encouraging women participation in all aspects of ICTs. The enactment and implementation of ICT policies and strategies targeting women population in both rural and urban areas is inevitable. Thus, status of gender inequality of ICT in Africa, strategies geared towards addressing gender inequalities in ICT in Africa and gender and ICT perspectives were discussed.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Policy for change and the Mask for Development: A Critical Analysis of Zimbabwe's E‐Readiness Survey Report

AbstractThe Government of Zimbabwe in conjunction with the National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) commissioned an e‐readiness survey in 2005, in a bid to assess the country's readiness to embrace Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Findings of this survey would then be used to coin a national ICTs policy and the e‐strategy to provide a roadmap towards a knowledge society. In a quest to assess the country's e‐readiness the Harvard University Guide (HUG) was used. Development in this paper is referred to as a process of change, which sets in motion principles whose objective is to eradicate poverty, injustice and various forms of exploitation. The pursuit of development therefore becomes the central pillar for policies. This paper seeks to provide a critical analysis of Zimbabwe's e‐readiness survey report and also focuses on the bedrock upon which the survey was carried out. It seeks to perceive an imperative to the e‐readiness assessment as also hinged on the technological determinist perspective as propounded by Marshal McLuhan (1964). This theory will be compounded by the diffusion of innovations model as coined by Everett Rogers (1962). The model strongly emphasizes the adoption of new technologies as the panacea for social change and development. The argument posited by the e‐readiness survey report is that in order to bridge the digital gap, Zimbabwe needs to build infrastructure to allow ICTs to be accessible. However, the e‐readiness survey report does not show a connection between the spread of ICTs infrastructure on the one hand and the economic and social development on the other. There is need to consider non‐quantifiable variables, such as poverty and social justice. The other factor as suggested above is the need for Zimbabwe to address current political and economic problems, as this isolation would impact heavily on the need to be interconnected.