An investigation of the attitude and development of agricultural science teachers towards ICT integration in secondary schools of Nigeria

Abstract

Recent global transformation stipulates the need for the Nigerian educational process to adopt changes in classroom paradigm in order to bridge the existing gap in education between the developed countries and developing countries which can merely be achieved through positive attitude of teachers and legible knowledge towards these technological tools. This study examined Agricultural science teacher’s attitudes and development as well as obstacles they encountered in the integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Four research questions were formulated and three (3) hypotheses were tested under 0.05 level of significance. Using a survey research design, a structured questionnaire with five rating scale was developed as an instrument for data collection which was administered to one hundred and twenty (120) Agricultural Science teachers. Descriptive statistics and Correlation were used to analyze the data. The result revealed that teachers showed a positive attitude towards ICT integration in schools. Moreover, teachers encountered numerous obstacles in their used of information and communication technology in their classrooms specifically lack of enough ICT facilities, insufficient time and above all inadequate training and development. The study also indicated that there exist a significant positive relationship between teacher’s attitude and ICT integration. Similarly, the result revealed a significant and positive relationship between teachers’ development and ICT integration. The study also indicated a strong negative correlation exist between the obstacles faced by teachers and integration of ICT. It was then recommended that government should make available the computer facilities be in adequate numbers, not only in offices but as well as the classrooms, regular practical training of Agricultural science teachers on how to employ ICT most specifically for classroom application should be insured. There is also the need for teachers to take into consideration learning theories and instructional design model as a basis for multimedia courseware development for students to interact more effectively. It is hoped that the findings of the study contributes to understanding of the benefits of using ICT and major barriers in its integration for teachers as well as the authorities concern. The understanding of the obstacles of ICT integration could be of benefit in Adamawa state secondary schools in particular and Nigerian schools in general.