Influence of Integration of Information Communication Technology in Teaching on Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

Teachers must understand the context within which students’ performance improvement takes place. Operational effectiveness and strategy are both essential to superior performance and strategy execution is crucial for quality and better students’ academic result. ICT can be a catalyst by providing tools which teachers use to improve teaching and giving learners access to electronic media that make concepts clearer and more accessible. Teachers in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya, have been integrating ICT in teaching, but students’ academic performance in KCSE examinations has been low as shown by the outcome of the examination results by Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). Few students qualify to join the various universities. This study used a survey research design to establish how the integration of ICT in teaching influenced the students’ academic performance. A total of 486 teachers (405 classroom teachers and 81 principals) from 81public secondary schools participated in the study. They were randomly selected from three clusters of schools namely National, Extra-County and County public secondary schools. Public secondary schools were selected because they are funded by the government and parents through parents’ teachers’ association (PTA) and are managed by the board of management (BOM). The findings of the study showed a positive influence on students’ academic performance with integration of ICT in teaching. The finding also showed that there was no relationship between gender and integration of ICT in teaching but there were relationship between teachers’ highest level of education, the age of the teacher and integration of ICT in teaching. The study concluded that integration of ICT in teaching is a vital component in improvement of students’ academic performance.

Keywords: ICT, integration, academic performance, influence, access