CHALLENGES FACING TEACHERS AND LEARNERS WHILE INTEGRATING ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING HOME SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A CASE OF KIAMBU COUNTY

Abstract

Despite the growing prevalence of ICT integration in various subjects, the adoption of ICT in teaching and learning Home Science at the secondary school level in Kiambu County has been sluggish and inadequate. This study aimed to uncover the challenges faced by teachers and learners when incorporating ICT into Home Science education. The research objectives included assessing the attitudes of teachers and students towards ICT integration, exploring the role of school administration in promoting ICT use, evaluating teacher competence in utilizing ICT for Home Science education, and determining the availability and utilization of ICT resources for learning Home Science. This study was guided by two theoretical frameworks: the Diffusion of Innovation theory and the Technology Acceptance Model theory. The research design employed in this study was descriptive, and a multi-stage selection technique was utilized. In the initial stage, purposive sampling was employed to select schools that offer Home Science, followed by the adoption of cluster sampling in the second stage. The study was conducted among all secondary schools in Kiambu County that offer Home Science as part of their curriculum. Participants included principals, Home Science teachers, and form three students from the selected schools. The study's total sample size consisted of 533 respondents, which was further divided among principals (23), Home Science teachers (30), and form three students (480). However, complete responses were obtained from 496 participants, including 14 principals, 29 teachers, and 453 students. Questionnaire, interviews and observation schedule were used as research instrument to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. The validity of the inquiry instruments was ascertained by the project supervisors. A pilot test was undertaken in 5 schools in the County, which were not part of the main research. By the use of A Cronbach’s alpha reliability a 0.7 coefficient was obtained from the pilot test, which meant that the questionnaire was acceptable for the study. The evaluated, classified and qualitative data was categorized into appropriate themes and coded while the quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The analyzed data was presented in form of frequency tables, figures and percentages. Further, chi-square analysis was used to showcase how the independent variable relate with the dependent variables and the extent to which the independent variables affected the dependent variables. The findings indicated that teacher and student attitudes, teacher competency, school administration and availability of ICT resources had a notable effect on the integration of ICT in the learning of Home Science in secondary schools in Kiambu County. This is shown by the respondent’s agreement as indicated by an average mean of 3.13. The study concluded that integrating ICT to the learning of Home Science in secondary schools is a worthy course, which will help the students to easily learn and grasp what they are being taught as indicated by the mean 3.07. ICT also, will enable teachers to simplify their content and improve the learners’ experience in Home Science as indicated by a mean value of 3.13. These findings were further reinforced by the chi-square results that indicated a statistical significance of the factors (p <0.05), which means that students and teachers attitudes have an impact on the integration of ICT in teaching and learning and hence, the school administration have an important role in ensuring the use of ICT in the teaching and learning process.