ICT has important roles to play in making school administration less burdensome and

more effectively integrated to the official information flow about students, curricula,
teachers, budgets and activities through the educational system information pipelines
Hepp, P., Hinostroza, J. E., Laval, E., and Rehbein, L. (2004) Technology in Schools:
Education, ICT and the Knowledge Society, Washington World !an".
(http##$$$%.$orldban".org#ed&'ation#pd(#)*+,report,
o't04a.pd( ) Technology in Schools:
Education, ICT and the Knowledge
Society
by
Pedro Hepp K.
nri!ue Hinostro"a #.
rnesto $aval %.
$ucio &ehbein '.
October 2004
(ge does affect teachers) perception of information technology and its usage *+attiker ,
-elligen, .//01. 2n the other hand, +an *344.1 and #ia *34441 identified that the
younger, less e5perienced teachers use computers in a broader, more transformational
fashion since these teachers are probably more likely to be computer proficient, will have
had more digitally focused teacher education courses, and will be less constrained by
prior habits or attitudes than their older, more e5perienced colleagues.
Teaching Exerience and Sub!ects Taught
#everal studies have been conducted that addressed the relationships between selected
demographic
variables such as teaching e5perience and sub6ects taught and usage of computer. 2ne
such study was
7idon and %iller *34431 who found weak relationship e5isted between years of teaching
with computer
usage. Conversely, in a study of teachers usage of computers, %artin and $undstrom
*34431 found that
almost 849 of the teachers in their study who had under .4 years of teaching e5perience
believed
computers in the classroom were essential and hence they use it e5tensively, while only
3:9 of
teachers with over 34 years of teaching e5perience shared this belief. %eanwhile, a meta;
analysis and
review of 0. research studies by &osen and %aguire *.//41 concluded that teachers
teaching
e5perience does not eliminate computer phobias and many e5perienced teachers display
some
wariness, discomfort and<or mild an5iety in relation to computers.
2ver the years, computer usage issues related to various sub6ects taught have been
debated in
the literature. ( number of researchers have singled out the phenomenon of sub6ects
taught in schools
as one of the factors that serve to influence the usage of computers in schools *Heinssen,
+lass ,
Knight, 344.1. Computers had been identified useful particularly with mathematics and
science as the
teachers teaching these sub6ects reali"e its inherent utilitarian value *=ambrot, #illing,
%arsh ,
+arber, 34441. Kantrowit" *344.1 affirmed this finding when she indicated that
mathematics and
science teachers tended to be seduced by the technology and appreciated the practical
application of
computers and software for meeting needs. -ot all studies drew this conclusion> however
$ockheed and 'rakt *34431 found that the
relationships between the amount of computer use in schools and sub6ects taught were
not especially
strong. ?ased on the literature, it can be construed that teaching e5perience and main
sub6ects taught
have an impact on teachers) (@C. 'or this reason, this study will investigate to determine
the influence
of teaching e5perience and main sub6ects taught with (@C.
Training in Co"uter #sage
2ne of the pertinent factors contributing to the usage of computer is that teachers need to
be computer
literate and thus be given appropriate training in computer usage *&opp, .///1. =ifferent
people hold
different views about computer literacy. They are those who take a literal interpretation of
computer
literacy. They regard writing and reading computer programs as the basic skill of a
computer;literate
person.
(nother view is that a computer literate person merely needs to know how to use a
computer
and does not need to know about programming. &ecently, compromise between these two
e5treme
views is gaining popularity *#imonson , Thompson, .///1. ( computer;literate person,
according to
this view, must have competencies in understanding the basic principles of programming,
the present
and potential applications for computers, and the general concepts of computers as
systems, and have a
positive attitude about the computer and computer technology *#imonson , Thompson,
.///1. ?riefly,
computer literacy is the ability to understand and to use computers.
If teachers were to use computers, they must posses the necessary knowledge and skills.
The
knowledge refers to the understanding of computer terminology, and the ability to
identify
components, to describe applications, and to analy"e social and ethical issues that arise in
using
computer *Hout" , +upta, 344.1. 2n the other hand, skills refer to the ability to perform
basic
operation, to print, and to use computers for a variety of application such as the word
processing,
spreadsheets, databases, graphics, information storage and retrieval, and computer;
assisted instruction
*&opp, .///1.
Training too plays an important role in a teacher)s readiness to use computers *+an,
344.1.
Aith regards to the issue of having attended formal computer courses, it was identified
through
numerous studies that there is a significant relationship between usage of computers and
computer
training *Aong et al., 3443> #ia, 3444> Koh, .//01. Training makes a positive difference
to those who
receive it. (ngers and %achtmes *344:1 state that teachers who receive .. or more hours
of
curriculum;integration training are five times more likely to say they believe they are
much better
prepared to integrate technology into their classroom lessons than teachers who received
no such
training
Previous studies also showed that with professional development activities, teachers
become
!uite capable of using technology and to integrate computer technology in classrooms
and they
consistently used technology as a tool in a variety of instructional pro6ects *#ia, 34441.
?esides,
Aa5man and Huang *.///1 found that teachers who consistently attend computer training
believed
that they could use computers to address different issues in their teaching and learning
instructions.
2n top of it, it is crucial that teachers be given the right training in computers from the
beginning and the computer knowledge and skills ac!uired need to be current so that
positive
computer;related schemata are formed *#ia, 34441. This is in line with what has been
stated by Hulse,
geth and =eese *./041 that used both Piaget)s cognitive development theory and
%owrer)s twoprocess
theory to e5plain the different levels of computer usage e5perienced by teachers.
Hulse et al. *./041 contended that some teachers may have positive computer;related
cognitive
structures while others may have negative ones and those with positive computer;related
cognitive
structures will have higher computer usage than those with negative ones. Thus, it is
important that
appropriate computer training is given to teachers to develop positive computer;related
schemata that
would help to increase further interactions with computers and eventually it will increase
the usage of
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 6, Number 4 (2008)
..B
computers *#ia, 34441. In line with this, (ngers and %achtmes *344:1 mentioned that
teachers who
received both basic;skills and integration training tend to believe they are better prepared
than those
who received 6ust one type. Teachers receiving more training of either type, but especially
of
integration training, are more likely to use software to enhance instruction in their
classrooms. The
empirical findings provided an insight that the variable training in computer usage has a
positive
impact on (@C. The number of computer skills ac!uired by teachers), its) currentness,
and the number
of hours of formal training play an important role in positioning the (@C of teachers) in a
higher level.
This study will further investigate on the impact of training in computer usage on (@C.
$e%el o& '#C by Selected Socio()e"ograhic *actors
+ender and '#C
There were B.0 respondents in this study out of which 3B0 *C:.891 were female teachers
and 04
*3D.D91 were male teachers. It was not surprising to see a vast ma6ority of respondents
being females
because it signifies the proportion of teachers in %alaysia whereby it is very much
dominated by the
female workforce. The mean score of the overall (@C for male teachers was B.BC
*#=E.B31 while the
mean score for female teachers was B.B/ *#=E.B:1. This shows that generally teachers in
this study are
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 6, Number 4(2008)
..D
at the moderate level in terms of their overall (@C while relatively the female teachers is
slightly
ahead of their male counterparts in terms of the mean overall (@C scores.
(n independent sample t;test was conducted to compare the (@C score for males and
females.
Table . shows the outcome test. The findings shows that there was no significant
difference in the
mean scores of (@C between male and female secondary school teachers *t*B.81E4.80,
pF.4:1. #ince
the difference was not significant, it was not surprising to find that the magnitude of the
differences in
the means to be very small *eta s!uaredE.43/1. Thus, this study revealed that gender
differences among
%# secondary school teachers do not play a significant role in teachers) computer
usage.
'ge and '#C
In terms of the age of the respondents, it ranges from 3. to :4. The highest age group of
the
respondents was between the range of B.;D4 *D3..91, followed by the range of D.;:4
*D..:91, and the
last group is the one that is between the range of 3.;B4 *.8.D91. This suggests that as a
whole, about
849 of the respondents that participated in this study are in their 34s and B4s. These
batches of
teachers are the ones trained either in teacher training colleges or universities in the /4s
whereby
interaction with computers is made part and parcel of their training. (s for the other D49
of the
respondents, who are in their D4s, probably did not have the e5posure to computers as a
sub6ect matter
during their training period.
Table 3 shows that the overall (@C of %# secondary school teachers decrease as their
age
increases. The same result can be seen in the subscales of Teaching and $earning, and
(dministration.
However, the mean score obtained for Personal -eeds increases in tandem with the
increase in age.
-umerous studies have mentioned the affect of age on (@C and many of these studies
showed that the
senior and more e5perienced teachers are less receptive towards computers compared to
the younger
ones *Goung, 34441. #urprisingly, the 2ne;way (-2H( statistical test revealed a finding
as oppose to
similar results as in the past, that is, there is no significant difference in the mean scores
of (@C
between %# secondary school teachers of different ages *'E..B4B, pE.3C31. ?esides,
the finding also
shows that there was no significant difference between the age groups and the subscales
of Teaching
and $earning *'EB.3C4, pE.4:/1, (dministration *'E4./8/, pE.B0.1, and Personal -eeds
*'E3.44.,
pE..BC1.
The results indicate that, while the younger teachers in %alaysia were more enthusiastic
in
using computers, the senior and more e5perienced teachers were not far behind. Training
could be a
clear factor that has played a vital role to nullify the age old myth that seem to belief that
the senior
teachers suffer from computer phobia and thus keep away from it. The study had found
that it is not
true that the senior teachers are more apprehensive towards computers and the levels of
(@C are very
much lower compared to the younger teachers. This is not surprising since, most senior
teachers in
urban schools do take the effort to keep abreast with the latest technology. They are much
keen to
attend courses and trainings to enhance and enrich their IT skills. Ahile the senior
teachers !uench
their thirst for IT knowledge through formal training and courses, the younger batch of
teachers have
the e5posure to computers even during their schooling days *Aong et al., 34431 and as
such teachers of
all ages seem to have built their confidence and ability to use computers. -o significant
difference was
noted in the findings in the level of (@C where age was concerned.
Teaching Exerience and '#C
There were .43 *B3..91 respondents who had between .8;34 years of teaching
e5perience. This is
followed by /0 *B4.091 respondents who have had ..;.: years of teaching e5perience,
C4 *33.491
respondents with 8;.4 years of teaching e5perience, and lastly D0 *.:..91 respondents of
about .;:
years of teaching e5perience. This distribution indicates that the ma6ority of the
respondents in this
study are from the group of very e5perienced teachers.
Table B shows that in general the (@C of %# secondary school teachers decrease with
increase in their work e5perience. %eanwhile, the subscale of Teaching and $earning
initially there
was a decrease in the mean score from the range .;: years to 8;.4 years, then it increases
from the
range 8;.4 years to ..;.: years, and eventually the mean scores decreases from the range
..;.: years
to .8;34 years. 2n the other hand, for the subscale of (dministration, there was an
increase in the
mean score from the range .;: years to 8;.4 years, followed by a decrease in the mean
score from 8;.4
years till .8;34 years. 'or the subscale of Personal -eeds, there was a decrease in the
mean score from
.;: years to 8;.4 years, followed by an increase in the mean score at the range of ..;.:
years till .8;34
years.
It is of course believed that the more years a teacher has taught the better the teacher is.
@nfortunately, with the birth of the IT era, a teacher without the knowledge in the (@C is
considered
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 6, Number 4(2008)
..8
Iold fashioned) and Ianachronistic). Thus being the case, it becomes immaterial if a
teacher is with 34
years of teaching e5perience or :.
+attiker, @. , -elligan, =. *.//01. Computer attitudes and learning performanceJ Issues
for
management education and training. Journal of Organia!ion "e#a$ior, %&, C0;/4
,e&erences
K.L (bdul Aahid &osli *.//01. 'a#ap li!erasi (ompu!er guru)guru se(ola# menenga# *on
+
"a#agian ,uc#ing-Samara#an. @npublished master)s thesis. Kota #amarahanJ
@niversity
%alaysia of #arawak.
K3L (ngers, M., , %achtmes, K. *344:1. (n ethnographic;case study of beliefs, conte5t
factors, and
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KBL ?loom, &. *344B1. 'eac#ers, compu!es an1 curriculum. 2icrocompu!ers in !#e
classroom.
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KDL ?rown, K.T. *34441. Integrating technology into constructivist classroomsJ (n
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K:L Carlson, #., , +adio, C.T. *344B1. Teacher professional development in the use of
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K8L Conlon, T., , #impson, %. *344B1. #ilicon Halley versus #ilicon +lenJ The impact of
computers upon Teaching and $earningJ a comparative study. "ri!is# Journal of
E1uca!ional
'ec#nolog5, &4*31, .BC;.:4
KCL =ambrot, &., #illing, ., %arsh, T., , +arber, P. *34441. @sing computers in the
mathematics
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34;B/.
K0L +an, #.$. *344.1. 6' 7 e1uca!ion in 2ala5sia8 9roblems, issues an1 c#allenges.
#elangorJ
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K/L +attiker, @. , -elligan, =. *.//01. Computer attitudes and learning performanceJ
Issues for
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K.4L +efen, '. , #traub, &. *.//C1. Correlates of gender differences in attitudes toward
and
involvement with computers. Journal of Voca!ional "e#a$ior, &:, C4;0:.
K..L +insberg, (., , %cCormack, M.C. *.//01. 'eac#ers abili!5 !o !eac# in a 1igi!al age.
#anta
%onicaJ %ilken International.
K.3L +uha, #. *344B1. (re we all technically preparedN Teachers) perspective on the
causes of
comfort or discomfort in using computers at elementary grade teaching. 6nforma!ion
'ec#nolog5 in 3#il1#oo1 E1uca!ion +nnual, B.C;BD/.
K.BL Heinssen, &., +lass, =., , Knight, M. *344.1. Classroom dynamics in a technology;
rich learning
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K.DL Hishammudin Tun Hussein *344:1. + $ision of !#e fu!ure 63' an1 !#e c#allenges
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2ala5sia sc#ools. $ondonJ The %oving Goung %inds International %inisterial #eminar
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K.:L Hoffman, ?. *344.1. Integrating technology into schools. E1uca!ion <iges!, 62*:1,
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K.8L Hout", #., , +upta, P. *344.1. +ender roles, computer attitudes, and dyadic
computer
interaction performance among teacher educators. Journal of Organia!ional "e#a$ior,
20*B1,
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K.CL Hulse, #.H., geth, H., , =eese, M. *./041. '#e ps5c#olog5 of learning *:th ed.1. -ew
GorkJ
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K.0L Hu, P.M., Clark, T.H.K., , %a, A.A. *344B1. 5amining technology acceptance by
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teachersJ ( longitudinal study. 6nforma!ion 7 2anagemen!, 4%, 33C;3D..
K./L Mung, I. *344.1. Singapore=s approac# !o preparing ne> !eac#ers !o use !ec#nolog5
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K34L Kantrowit", #. *344.1. #ub6ects taught and staff development e5perience with
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own needs,
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K33L Koh, C.K. *.//01. 3ompu!er an?ie!5 an1 a!!i!u1e !o>ar1s compu!er of rural
secon1ar5 sc#ool
!eac#ers. @npublished master)s thesis. Kota #amarahanJ @niversity %alaysia of #arawak.
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K3BL $ee, H. , *.//C1. ffects of high school restructuring and si"e on early gains in
achievement
and engagement. Sociolog5 of E1uca!ion, 68, 3D.;C4.
K3DL $ockheed, H. , 'rakt, P. *34431. @sing computes in the classroomJ The role of the
teacher.
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K3:L %ahathir %ohamad *./001. E?cerp!s from !#e speec#es of 2a#a!#ir 2o#ama1 on
!#e
2ul!ime1ia Super 3orri1or. #ubang MayaJ Pelanduk Publications *%1 #dn. ?hd.
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K3CL %ehloff, C.. *344.1. Knowledge, commitment and attitudes of Home conomics
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&esult of
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KBBL &ay, C.%., #ormunen, C., , Harris, T.%. *.///1. %en)s and women)s attitudes
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KBDL &obinson, M.#., , 7aitun (bu ?akar *34481. The utili"ation and integration of ICT
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a more collaborative approach and the sharing of curriculum plans with colleagues
and managers.
Issuing teachers with their own laptop computer increases positive attitudes towards their
work.
Sometimes a school may have high quality of ICT resources but these are
inappropriately organized and thus not optimally used. In some schools for instance,
prior booking of the ICT classroom is required, or the internal school network cannot
be accessed from outside. s a result teachers and students do not have the
opportunity to use ICT at any time according to their needs.
Taking into account that most teachers embrace new
technologies in a step by step process, systematically but slowly, any change
should be supplemented by process management and connected to realistic
visions. This means allowing schools to e!periment within given boundaries.
To be confident
teachers must be able to upgrade their ICT skills and gain more pedagogical
knowledge and this in a much more active way than previously. Teachers have to
become active shapers of their own learning process which requires a professional
environment and culture that allows teachers to do so. n e!perimental approach
using ICT in everyday practice is an important factor in increasing teachers"
pedagogical competence. Training programmes should be more school#based and
adapted to the particular needs of teachers and fit to personal and sub$ect
specific needs, or pro$ect related needs. Continuous professional development
should be in the foreground enabling teachers to learn how to upgrade their skills.
%p#front sessions should be replaced by practice oriented pro$ects in the practical
working environment. Initial teacher training for ICT, not tackled in this review, is
also seen as an important area for improvement in the future, ne!t to concrete
measure for improving in service teacher training.
Motivate and reward teachers to use ICT
s the survey has shown, in addition to access to infrastructure and content and
having the requisite skills, teachers" motivation is a critical factor in ICT adoption,
and this is often neglected. &n a 'uropean level, there are considerable
discrepancies with regards to motivating teachers. ctions should be built into
policies that encourage teachers to use ICT more ( and more effectively. )olicies
in this area should include measures raising the confidence levels of teachers
*sufficient on#site support, appropriate in#service and initial teacher training in
ICT+ but also means of incentivising, recognising and rewarding the use of ICT
*such as appraisal schemes, making good ICT use part of career paths, or time
benefits for teachers engaged in ICT related pro$ects+.
Integrate the ICT strategy into the schools overall strategies
s the latest evidence confirms teachers that assess to e!perience a more
positive impact of ICT are most likely to be found in schools where headmasters
have used ICT to support the development of the school"s values and goals. If the
ICT strategy is integrated into the school"s overall strategy ICT has the greatest
potential to act as a catalyst for change. ,urthermore this overall strategy needs
to be developed and evaluated by all school actors and not only by the
headmaster in collaboration with the ICT coordinator, thus establishing a culture
of collaboration and commitment and making it more likely that the policy is
actually solving a problem that teachers and students are facing. Communicate
about your ob$ectives with teachers, students and parents in order to take away
wrong e!pectations, unnecessary fears and manage doubts.
7. Transform positive attitudes towards ICT into efficient widespread
practice
#chools should capitalise on positive attitudes. To achieve greater impact it is
important that teachers underpin ICT use with a pedagogical approach. There
seems to be a mismatch between the potential of ICT for learning and the actual
teaching approach of teachers. The ma6ority of teachers think that ICT can improve
learning outcomes, but they think that ICT has little or no impact on their methodology.
This could be achieved by hand on practical training, providing easy to use ICT based
materials, peer learning and peer sharing of e5periences, securing reliable infrastructure,
triggering teachers knowledge in their sub6ect,
pupil motivation, and easy access to research findings.
#chool administrators and school owners should perceive the introduction of ICT as a necessary
moderni"ation
effort for their schools as well as an opportunity to attract new parents looking for more modern learning
environments for their children8. #chool administrators can play an influential role in fostering teacher
attitudes
towards innovation and ICT use in classrooms. Too often, administrators are either passive or actively
against ICT
initiatives, mainly due to cost. They perceive technology as e5pensive devices that will consume scarce
resources as
well as distract teachers) time, without evident short;term returns.
(n important message to school administrators was that they should not simply promote the use of the
technology
by teachers and students> rather, they should regard themselves as key players, supporting actively and
e5plicitly
every initiative from teachers to improve learning with ICT. To carry out this policy, administrators need to
know
the costs and benefits, and the incentives for the schools. They should also be promptly informed of the
results of
evaluation studies, especially those of their own schools.
Teachers Skills, Beliefs and Attitudes
'ield researchers have learned that teachers work under a given social and cultural conte5t that is a key
influence in
the way they perceive and use ICT for their personal and professional practices
?esides technical skills, training in nlaces also considers a number of other factors that might affect
teachers)
decision to use ICT in the classroom. These factors can be grouped into the following two levels of barriers
K3.LJ
The Ofirst order barriersP comprise a number of aspects that are e5trinsic to teachersJ access to
technology,
time for practice, technical support, resources and content, and training. ven if all these barriers were
removed, most teachers would not automatically use technology.
The Osecond order barriersP are intrinsic to teachersJ attitudes, beliefs, practices and resistance. Teacher
beliefs mediate their planning and classroom practices, in particular the belief about their level of ability to
use ICT in classrooms. #elf;efficacy, the belief about one)s capability to perform actions at a given level, is
based on the level of skill possessed and on 6udgments about what can be done with current skills.
CDi!#ou! s(ill, performance is no! possible, >i!#ou! self)efficac5
performance ma5 no! be a!!emp!e1E F2%G
( broad but useful generali"ation about teachers) attitudes towards ICT is that of considering three basic
categories
of teachersJ innovators, resistant and mainstream. %any discussions inside nlaces use these categories
when
reviewing training results and considering possible modifications.
Innovators will rapidly recogni"e the potential of ICT in education, will be willing to e5plore its uses with
their
students and in their professional duties *i.e. management1 in the early stages of the training process. They
will also
be willing to become responsible for administrative and technical tasks related to the e!uipment *i.e.
running the
technology lab1. Innovators are normally the ones who volunteer for the first training courses and
participate in the
pilot stages of the ICT program. The schools) ICT coordinator will normally be a volunteer from this group.
Aorking only with innovators at the beginning of an ICT Program can be very deceiving for policy; makers
because
this group)s active commitment is not necessarily shared by the rest of the teachers in all schools. nlaces
learned
during its evolution, which included an increasing number of mainstream teachers, that progress with them
is much
more difficult to achieve. Policy;makers should be aware that although innovators can play a great role in
having a
OThe focus of teacher training should be on helping teachers use technology to teach
more effectively, not on computer operationP
(ccording to @-esco *344:1 study, Information Communication Technologies in
schoolsJ Ict is said to enable teachers to save time and increase productivity in many
activities
In&or"ation and Co""unication Technologies in Schools: ' -andboo. &or
Teachers
'uthor: 'lexey Se"eno%
/ #0ESCO, 2001 htt:22unesdoc3unesco3org2i"ages2004520045602456027e3d&