Information and communication technologies integration into early childhood development education in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe: a critical analysis.
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Date
2019
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Abstract
ICT integration has been considered a silver bullet in different studies internationally. As a
result, the multi-faceted Zimbabwean primary education system has made initiatives to adopt
ICT. Early Childhood Development (ECD) has not been an exception to this as it is currently in
the process of integrating ICTs into its curriculum. Teachers are now required to keep current
with this development by integrating it into their classes. The aim of this study was to critically
analyse the integration of ICTs in ECD education from the teachers’ perspective. The general
image emerging from the literature about developing countries’ ICT education was that it is
marred by severe lack of ICT resources, infrastructure, competence and funding challenges.
To this end, research questions examined teachers’ ICT integration attitudes, competencies
and challenges, and how ICT integration can be improved for ECD education. The Diffusion of
Innovations and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology theories guided this
study as analytic frameworks. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach using a
cross-sectional survey was employed. Data were generated through questionnaires,
interviews and focus group discussions in two phases. Questionnaires were administered in
phase 1; interviews and focus group discussions in phase 2, based on outcomes of phase 1.
The results indicated that the teachers’ attitudes were mostly positive. The research also
unveiled the dearth of ICT resources and infrastructure in schools and ICT competencies
among ECD teachers. To overcome resource constraints, the study discovered that teachers
subserviently conformed to their employers’ requirements by using their personal resources.
The most significant predictors of ECD teachers’ attitudes, accounting for 87.6% of the
variance, were Perceived Usefulness, Extrinsic Motivation, Perceived Behavioural Control and
Complexity. Therefore, there is need to embed ICT integration requirements into ECD
education policies; for more parental and alumni support through fundraising activities; to
improve training and extend it to all teachers prior to ICT integration. It is recommended that
government urgently drafts an ICT policy on ECD education backed by an ICT audit conducted
in all primary schools; recruits ECD experts to spearhead ICT integration; electrifies schools in
rural areas; and introduces an ICT integration levy.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.