Practical Application and Management of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to Enhance the Performance of Ugandan Secondary Schools in West Nile
Abstract
This study focuses on the contribution that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can make to improving teacher and student performance in secondary schools in West Nile Region, Uganda. Examines the existing ICT implementation, assesses integration and potential benefits issues, and analyses the relationship between ICT usage and learning outcomes. The research is focused on showing that ICT can go global and how it connects Uganda’s secondary schools in West Nile to global education networks. ICT enhances global learning through active participation, innovation, and flexibility through access to international resources and embracing cross-boundary collaboration and virtual interchanges. This has improved student achievement but also endows students and teachers with the competencies to prosper in a globally connected environment. Ugandan schools have poorly developed ICT facilities, but schools embrace ICT education and facilities for operations. The study centers on specific ICT issues in West Nile schools and explores the possibility of using ICT to raise aggregate performance and efficiency in communication, collaboration, and organizational management. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 400 respondents, including teachers and students from 10 secondary schools. Data collection tools included questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS, while NVivo was used for qualitative analysis. Ethical considerations were strictly adhered to protect participants' rights. While observing ICT integration in teaching across the ten selected secondary schools in West Nile and surveying 100 teachers, researchers found that 55.6% of them sometimes, 33.3% consistently, and 11% seldom integrate ICT in their teaching. This limited integration is due to a lack of ICT equipment, for example, computers, projectors, and internet connections; inadequate teacher education, where the majority of the teachers are found to be either lacking skills or self-confidence to incorporate ICT in teaching; and limited resource availability where even schools that have procured ICT tools are most often found to be having very few that are inadequacy for the needs of both teacher and students to make effective use of. These results raise concerns regarding the existing disparities in developments and funds for ICT training in West Nile’s secondary schools, with recommendations being made to enhance specific plans to reduce the digital divide. These include making ICT tools a focal area, increasing internet connection, and providing training activities that would increase and develop the competencies of the teaching staff. They seek to devise a technological learning atmosphere to enhance education, teacher, and student learning outcomes
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