Exploring factors influencing the choice of ICT education among matric students in selective rural high schools in Zululand.

Abstract

The study investigates factors influencing ICT career choice among matric students in selected high schools in Zululand, South Africa. In doing so, the Social Cognitive Career Theory, Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance, Keller’s ARCS motivational model, and the Cognitive Load Theory were found to converge on common and relevant constructs for the study. These are used in the research’s survey questionnaire and they are: career motivation; social influence; career relevance; self-efficacy; confidence; cognitive load; and career choice. These constructs were then used in designing structured survey statements on a Likert scale used in the survey administered to 190 participants. Of the 203 targeted sample participants, a total of 190 questionnaires were received in good order for analysis, giving a response rate of 93.6%. The research found that most matric students in the survey had limited understanding of ICT careers but it also acknowledges that an ICT career choice is strategic and relevant. This is deduced from the response to the invitation to consider ICT as a career choice which was met with 89% positive response. Research, however, highlights the gap in implementation of ICT in South African schools with their limited training of teachers or students and capacity building of the instructional stakeholders, and with teachers, who also require be oriented and made familiar and proficient with ICT subjects before sharing their knowledge with students. The conceptual integration approach designed in the study, and adopted from the theoretical models mentioned above, reveals further that social influence plays a role. Descriptive analysis further showed students responding with moderation but positively to the influence of all factors in their choice of ICT. These results are corroborated by findings from the Pearson’s and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, an independent samples ttest, and a Mann-Whitney U test; all of which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis; concluding that all factors investigated in this study positively influence ICT career choice. However, contrasting results were found in the main model where self-efficacy, cognitive processing ability and confidence were found to be insignificant in explaining variances in ICT career choice and social influence, career motivation and career relevance were found to explain ICT career choice significantly. The survey findings further reveal that in the exploration of enablers and barriers to students’ career choice, the availability of role models, exposure to the field and career advice are facilitators while low income, lack of prestige and poor environments are barriers.