CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become key tools and have had a revolution impact on how we see the world and how we live. Today the place of education and the world in general cannot be undermined. Modern day businesses are conducted and facilitated through the use of telephones, fax machines and computer communication networks through the internet. This phenomenon has given birth to the contemporary education, e-government, e-medicine, e-commerce and e-banking among others. Accordingto Bandele (2006), ICT is a revolution that involves the use of computers, internet and other telecommunication technology in every aspect of human endeavor. ICT is simply about sharing and having access to data with ease. It is regarded as the super highway through which information is transmitted and shared by people all over the world. The field of education has certainly been affected by the penetrating influence of ICT worldwide and in particular, developed countries; ICT has made a very profound and remarkable impact on the quality and quantity of teaching, learning and research in the educational organizations.
It has the potentials to accelerate, enrich deepen skill to motivate and engage students in learning to help relate school experiences to work practices; to help create economic viability or tomorrow’s workers, contribute to radical changes in school; to strengthen teaching and learning to provide opportunities for connection between the school and the world. According to Aribisala (2006), ICT is increasingly playing an important role in educational organizations and in society’s ability to produce access, adopt and apply information. They are however being heralded as the tools for the post-industrial age and the foundations for a knowledge economy due to their ability to facilitate the transfer and acquisition of knowledge. Stressing the importance of the use of ICT in schools, Elujekwute (2019) states that through ICT, educational needs have been met; it changes the needs of education as well as the potential processes. Message can be communicated through the e-mail, telex or telephones particularly the mobile ones.
The pervasiveness of ICT has brought about rapid teleological, social, political and economic transformation, which has eventuated in a network society organized around ICT (Asogwu, 2008). Asogwu further posits that ICT is an indispensable part of educational management as its application makes institutions more efficient and productive, thereby engendering a variety of tools to enhance and facilitate teachers pedagogical activities. For instance, e-learning is becoming one of the most common means of using ICT to provide education to students both on and off campus by means of teaching online offered via web-based systems.
Looking at the role of education in nation building and the Population explosion in the secondary schools in North-Central States of Nigeria these days, the use of ICT in the teaching and learning process becomes imperative. This is true because its adoption by the teacher will enhance effective teaching and learning. Such issues like good course organization, effective class management, content creation, self-assessment, self-study collaborative learning, task oriented activities, and effective communication between the actors of teaching and learning process and research activities will be enhanced by the use of ICT based technology. Teaching and learning have gone beyond the teacher standing in front of a group of students and disseminating information to them without the students’ adequate participation (Ajayi, 2008). Ajayi further opines that with the aid of ICT, teachers can take students beyond traditional limits, ensure their adequate participation in teaching and learning process and create vital environments to experiment and explore. This new development is a strong indication that the era of teachers without ICT skills are gone. Any classroom teacher with adequate and professional skills in ICT utilization will definitely have his students perform better in classroom learning.
The in-cooperation of Information Communication Technology in the administration of schools has positive effects. These may include improvement of the school standards in terms of academics, financial status and in co-curricular activities. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer, and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. When such technologies are used for school administrative purposes, namely to support and improve School Administration, ICT can be considered as a sub field of Educational Technology (Kumar, 2008).
The potential of information communications technology (ICT) in enhancing human capabilities and revolutionizing the management of organizations was first realized in other sectors of human society, mostly in the business world and the military, other than in education (Ray & Davis, 2001). The importance of ICT contribution is also widely recognized both in the workplace and at home (Dawes, 2001). These examples are just a few pointers which show that ICT is becoming a vital enabling tool that can no longer be ignored in the administration of schools.
The purpose of teaching is primarily to assist the learner acquire the type of knowledge and skills that will produce desirable changes in him. This can be actualized if the teaching and learning process provide the enabling environment for the learner to think critically and analytically, and consequently, be an agent of change to self, his community and society at large. Generally, the educational system is subdivided into the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In some cases, the pre-primary education is an integral part of primary level. The secondary level occupies a critical position in the educational system. According to the National Policy on Education (2010), secondary education is the education children receive after primary education and before the tertiary education. The broad goal of secondary education is to prepare the individual for useful living within the society and higher education. To achieve the stated goals, secondary education is of six years duration, given in two stages - a junior secondary school stage and a senior secondary school stage and each being of three years duration.
Education is known through out the world as a big business that requires effective and efficient management for it to succeed. Success in achieving educational objectives and goals irrespective of the country in question does not just happen; it results from a combination of factors among which are the style of administration and the freedom of power at a leader’s disposal to exercise such authority of powers. This is very paramount because the success of any business depends largely on the effectiveness and efficiency in leadership. Administrative competence in terms of availability of skills and knowledge are necessary in realizing organizational goals but in addition to those are the rights to exercise leadership powers and authority on school governance. The school administrator therefore, is often charged with the responsibility of being able to harness the available human and material resources within the organization in such a way that desired school organizational goals can be achieved.
The achievement of the above stated goals is dependent on the extent the secondary school principal; who is the chief executive officer in the school is capable of applying the appropriate administrative processes in the school operations. The principal does not work in isolation; he is in constant interaction with the Ministry of Education, School Based Management Committee/Board, teachers, learners and the external environment. The school is an open system that is in constant interaction with the environment. It receives inputs from the external environment in the form of human and material resources, processes them and empties same into the environment. Consequently, the administrative functions of the principal are very complex.
Information Communication Technology and Public School Administration in Osun State, Nigeria Put succinctly, the administrative functions of the principal are decision making, planning, organizing, communicating, influencing, coordinating and evaluating. These tasks are applied in areas of curriculum development, instructional supervision, staff and student personnel administration, guidance and counseling, finance, community relations, construction and maintenance of facilities, and special services.
These tasks are very complex, nebulous and time consuming. For the principal to function efficiently and effectively in the present computer age, he/she must rise to the challenges of adopting new technological resources and services in the management of the school. According to Moore (2008), technology is the application of knowledge to the achievement of particular goals or to the solution of particular problems. This undoubtedly involves deployment and exploitation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in facilitating and accelerating administrative processes in secondary schools.
Statement of the Problem
While different people debate the obvious advantages of ICT in School Administration, systematic research is needed to confirm that the school administration is actually acquiring and using the skills that are being taught on use of ICT in administration, and that the use of ICT in School Administration is the best way to achieve the outcomes in a school environment.
Application of ICT in any field is perceived having potentials of improving the standards from a lower level to a high level. In this case, application of ICT in schools is expected to improve the standards of the school from one level to the other. There are a number of the schools that have embraced the use of ICT in administration, but still they never improve in the standards. These schools have been faced by various challenges such as mismanagement of school resources, low academic performance of students of which have resulted due to poor school administration strategies (Karsenti (2004). The question that beckons for an answer is: has ICT been effectively used in school administration? Based on this question, this study sought to establish the impact of information and communication Technology on school Administration process in senior secondary Schools .
Objectives of Study
The major objectives of this study is to find out the impact of information and communication Technology on school Administration process in senior secondary Schools in ----------- local government area of ----------- State
The specific objectives of the study are to:
1. To determine the level of availability of ICT for administrative purposes in secondary schools in ------------ local government area of ----------- state.
2. To determine the level of ICT usage of the school administrators for administrative purposes .
3. To determine whether the relationship exist between ICT and effective school Administration.
4. To determine whether the gender differences of the institutional administrators in senior secondary schools affect their attitude towards ICT usage and Administrative processes in the school
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study
1. What is the level of availability of ICT facilities for administrative purposes?
2. To what extent do institutional administrators use ICT for administrative purposes?
Research Hypotheses
In order to find the solution to the problems of this study, the following research hypotheses were formulated to pilot the study:
1. There is no significant relationship between ICT usage and Administrative process in secondary school
2. Institutional administrators’ gender differences will not significantly influence their attitude toward ICT usage and Administrative processs in secondary schools
Significance of the Study
The findings accumulated by this study would provide significant benefits to the following groups or individuals:
The government would benefit from this study in view of the fact that they would learn how an Information communication technology resources enhances office administration and operations in secondary school.
The outcome of this research is hoped to be of immense use to students of education and information management science since it contains information on information communication technology.
The significance of this study will be of help to all those who use the information from the study like researchers or students of organizational behaviour, performance management, productivity, human resources and business administration.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
It is inevitable that a survey research of this nature must have some constraints which impact on this study. The materials for a proper and effective research work constituted a major limitation and even the decision to use questionnaire in data collection constituted some limitation of the study, that is, how to get the true and required information from the workers.
Finally, there was an anticipation of the problem of convincing the respondents on the filling of the questionnaires and to give the true and required information. But for the quick intervention the class representatives the departments took time to clear the air and convince their course mates, helped me to accomplish my assignment.
1.8 Delimitation Of The Study
This study was delimited to The Impact of information and communication Technology on school Administration process in senior secondary Schools in ------------ local government area.
1.9 Definition of terms
ICT: this term has been used in the study to refer to the application of information and technology in school administration in secondary schools. These include the use of computers and its constituent programs. It also covers other technologies involved in the transaction of financial resources and management of human and physical resources.
Measures: This refers to interventions or strategies that can be undertaken in order to solve a given challenge.
School Administrators: This term has been used to refer to those who are involved in day to day administration of schools. e.g. B.O.G chairman, PTA chairman, principals, D. principals, senior master among others
Administered: This can be defined the activities that are done in order to plan organize and run a school or other institution.
Administrator: This is referred to a person whose job is to manage and organize the affairs of an institution.
Militate: This means prevention of something, that is, to make it difficult for something to happen or exist.
Secondary school: This referred to s school for the young people the age of 11 and 16 or 18.
Principal: A principal is a person who is in charge of a college. He is seen as the head of the school
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