ICT in the marginalised education sector - IAD Summit presentation

1. |
IAD SUMMIT 2014 GAMBIA
USE OF ICT IN ENHANCING TEACHING
AND CURRICULUM DELIVERY IN
MARGINALISED SECONDARY SCHOOLS
IN KENYA
BY
MOMANYI CHRISTOPHER &
DR SEVILLA

2. |
ICT AND EDUCATION
• A considerable amount of research point to gender
differences in educational policies and their
implementation (Harding and McGregor 1995; Lukalo
1999).
• In Kenya only 2% of the secondary schools offer
computer studies as a subject (Kilemi Mwiria)
• ICT is not just the bloom of the educational activities,
but also the secondary option to improve the effective
and meaningful educational process.(Verykaka, 2008).
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3. |
@ILABAFRICA RESEARCH CENTRE
• Research Centre at Strathmore University established to
spearhead research and innovation in the ICT for the
development ecosystem towards the attainment of the
UNDP Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
Kenya’s vision 2030
• Use of ICT in Enhancing Teaching and Curriculum
delivery in marginalised Secondary Schools in Kenya
aims at:
i. developing Open Educational Resources for secondary
schools,
ii .improving IT infrastructure in schools,
iii. enabling Internet/Web access (including the local
communities),
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iv. mentoring secondary school students and supporting
teachers in the delivery of the Computer Studies course
offered as part of the official KCSE curriculum.
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5. |
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
• Weekend school visits – a group of 20 undergraduate
students were selected to visit the 5 schools to mentor high
school students and support the computer studies teachers.
A total of 45 visits were conducted and a total 1000
students benefited from the programme
• National computer science conferences – the project team
organized two major events for the computer science
teachers in secondary schools across the country
- in 13/11/10 the 1st National conference (Best practices
in teaching computer studies in schools), 60 teachers
attended
- in 11-13/08/11, 2nd 3 day conference attended by 120
participants drawn from the education sector & industry
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RESOLUTIONS OF THE 11-13TH AUG 11, CONFERENCE
• Creating awareness of the importance of IT in dev. and
the wealth of opportunities it provides as a career.
• To provide an environment for exchange of ideas,
opportunities and programs that support the teaching
of Computer Studies in secondary schools.
• Motivate administrators to fund and seek support from
sponsors for the procurement of the necessary
resources for the teaching of Computer Studies (e.g.
hardware, software and Internet connectivity).
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• Equip teachers with practical skills in computer science
to improve their teaching and delivery of the Computer
Studies subject in secondary schools thus building a
much needed capacity and promoting best teaching
practices
• Train teachers on the use of IT resources and provide an
eLearning platform that facilitates open access to
teaching resources and fosters collaboration
• Advice the Ministry of Education on the ICT
infrastructure and policy changes needed to improve
and support Computer Science in schools.
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8. |
COMPUTER TEACHERS PARTICIPATION BY GENDER
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Male
60%
Female
40%

9. |
INFORMATION FROM PARTICIPATING STUDENTS
Gender No. of students %
male 0 0
female 108 100
Person’s duty
administrator 0 0
teacher 0 0
student 108 100
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10. |
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE TOWARDS COMPUTER STUDIES
• From the data collected, all the students agree that
the project changed positively their attitude towards
taking computer studies. - interaction with Strathmore
University students taking IT
- For a long time, computer studies has been regarded
as a male oriented career but with time, through this
project, young girls identified themselves with the
female students who participated in the project
• there was an increase in the number of female students
taking computer studies
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11. |
INCREASED NUMBER OF STUDENTS REGISTERING
FOR COMPUTER STUDIES AFTER THE PROJECT
No. of students registered for computer studies before the
project started. Response no. of schools %
below 5 0 0
5 to 10 0 0
11 to 15 3 75
above 15 1 25
No. of students registered for computer studies by end of the
project. Response no. of schools %
below 5 0 0
5 to 10 0 0
11 to 15 4 100
above 15 4 100
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WHEN TEACHERS WERE INTERVIEWED THEY
GAVE THE FOLLOWING REASONS
• Previous good performance was encouraging (Consistent
better performance for consecutive years.
• Parents encouraged it due to its marketability.
• Emerging trends in technology were attractive to
students, hence do it as a matter of curiosity.
• Practical in real life.
• Positive attitude among students who viewed
computers as an easy subject.
• Students were willing to move with technology change.
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13. |
IMPROVED LEARNING LAB LEARNING & TEACHING
ENVIRONMENTS
• The schools heads were involved different ways, they
realized the need and adv. of improving the computer
facilities within their schools (operating system,
maintenance etc)
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3%
97%
No Yes

14. |
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN COMPUTER STUDIES
Improved performance in computer studies since 2008
Response no. of students %
no 4 3.7
yes 104 96.3
total 108 100
Number of students who scored C+ and above
Response no. of students %
none 1 0.8
1 to 5 3 2.4
6 to 10 5 4.1
above 10 114 92.7
total 123 100
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15. |
IMPROVED DELIVERY OF CONTENT FOR COMPUTER
STUDIES
Improved delivery of content for the computer studies
syllabus
Response no. of students %
no 0 0
yes 108 100
total 108 100
Improved support from school administration
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No
10%
Yes
90%

16. |
SOME OF THE REASONS WHY SOME SCHOOLS STILL
LACK FULL SUPPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION
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• Computer Studies is expensive and too demanding in
schools as a subject.
• Have not fully embraced the subject
• Financial constraints
• Maintenance is very expensive
• Delayed implementation of government funded
projects.

17. |
CONCLUSION
• More projects like this should be encouraged, it
is evident that there was an impact on the
students and the participating schools
• Organizing more teachers conferences to
exchange ideas to improve the usage of ICT in
high schools
Asante sana
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