DETERMINANTS OF PRINCIPALS’ INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MACHAKOS SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Operative ICT integration is very crucial for the management of the public secondary schools in the modern world of technology. This study sought to evaluate the determinants of principals’ integration of ICT in public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County, Machakos County Kenya. The objectives of the study were to: examine the influence of principals’ characteristics on ICT integration, investigate how principals’ level of ICT literacy affect ICT integration, determine the effects principals’ provision of ICT resources on ICT integration and to examine the effects of principals’ attitude on ICT integration in public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County. The study was grounded on two theories: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) developed by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003) who aimed at explaining how users accepted IT, their intensions and behavior and the second theory was the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis (1989) which was based on factors influencing user adoption and acceptance of technology. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study consisted of 44 principals and 528 heads of department (HOD) of the public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County. A simple random sampling and purposive sampling was utilized to select a sample of nine public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County where nine principals and 105 heads of department participated in the study. The quantitative data was collected by means of a well-structured questionnaire for heads of departments (HODs) and qualitative data was collected through interviewing the principals to evaluate the determinants of principals’ integration of ICT in public secondary schools in Machakos Sub-County, Machakos County. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics which included the use of percentages, pie charts, bar graphs, tables and frequencies while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. A pilot study was done among three principals and 30 heads of department of public secondary schools in Kathiani Sub-County and Cronbach alpha (α) was used to test the reliability of the instruments. Validity was proven through expert judgment. Reliability coefficient (r) between the two sets of scores was obtained using Cronbach Alpha Method. If a reliability coefficient of r≥0.75 was obtained, then it indicated a high internal reliability and the instrument yielded reliability coefficient of 0.75 (75%). The study therefore concluded that principals’ characteristics, level of literacy, provision of resources and attitude had significant influence ICT integration. The qualitative data was presented in form of narrative and integrated within the quantitative data. The study concluded that principals’ attitude, characteristics, level of ICT literacy and provision of resources influenced the integration of ICT in public secondary schools of Machakos Sub-County, Kenya. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education which is responsible for ensuring that schools offer quality education should allocate an adequate budget to facilitate provision of resources for ICT integration and also train the principals on ICT changes and development to improve their ICT skills.