I.C.T challenges in the teaching and learning of SHS science

Abstract

This study investigated the challenges of ICT integration in the teaching and learning of science in public senior high schools in the Akuapem North Municipality. The study was guided by four objectives: to determine the availability of ICT infrastructure in public senior high schools in the teaching of science, to determine ICT skills level of Science teachers, to establish the frequency of ICT use in the teaching of science and to identify strategies used by senior high schools to promote ICT use in the teaching of science in the Akuapem North Municipality. The study adopted the descriptive survey design where qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Using simple random sampling techniques, the researcher sampled four schools, four headmasters, twenty science teachers and eighty science students. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and were tabulated. The findings established that majority of science teachers had not acquired the requisite ICT skills and knowledge which limited their ability to integrate ICT into their lessons. On the frequency of the use of ICT in delivering lessons, it was found that Science teachers rarely used ICT to deliver their lessons. The study also found out that schools had strategies to improve ICT integration especially through in-service training of their Science teachers, building and equipping of Science laboratories and purchasing of more ICT equipment. The recommendations from this study were that the Boards of Management of the sampled schools should include ICT infrastructure in their strategic plans. The study concluded that ICT infrastructure in the selected schools influenced ICT integration and that schools that had well-established infrastructure utilized ICT application in their Science lessons.