1.1 Research Questions
The following research questions are formulated to assist the investigation:
(a) What is the impact of ICT access, its utilization and their influence on teachers’ communication skills (interaction) and students’ academic performance?
(b) How has access to ICT, its utilization and their influence impacted teachers’ methodological approaches and students’ academic performance?
(c) What is the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on the frequency of teachers’ use of ICT and students’ academic performance across gender?
(d) What relationship has ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ attitude/ interest and students’ academic performance?
(e) What is the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers giving assignment and supervising students online and students’ academic performance?
(f) What is the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ ICT knowledge base and students’ academic performance?
1.2 Hypotheses
In order to provide a guide, these null hypotheses will be tested at the 0.05 level of significance. They are:
(1) There is no significant difference between the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ communication skills (interaction) and students’ academic performance.
(2) There is no significant difference between the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ methodological approaches and students’ academic performance.
(3) There is no significant difference between the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on the frequency of teachers’ use of ICT for teaching and students academic performance.
(4) There is no significant difference between ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ attitude/interest and students’ academic performance.
(5) There is no significant difference between ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ ICT knowledge base and students’ academic performance.
1.3 Significance of the Study
The findings of the study will help the government (Federal, State and local authorities) see need to invest wisely. Investing in ICT and space technology education demands increased budget allocation on education. Making ICTs accessible to teachers and learners is primarily the responsibility of government and mainly because of the huge amount required to procure the facilities. This consciousness to be raised from the study will make positive impact in the authorities and leading to national development much desired by the nation’s leaders. Findings of the work will enable policy makers and regulatory authorities formulate and legislate implementable and sustainable ICT policies and programs. They will be guarded in their decision taking process. Making of dangerous assumptions and sweeping statements by public figures entrusted with responsibilities will be avoided as the real state of affairs regarding impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teachers’ attributes and students’ academic performance is known. Provisions will be made for ICT utilization in STEM education at all levels of education.
Curriculum planners and curriculum evaluators on ICT education will be properly guided about the reality on ground and the need to produce workable, useful and relevant ICT contents, activity, objectives and evaluation strategies that is plausible in the environment, not basing the curriculum on what is obtained in already developed nations of the world; and appreciate the challenges being faced by the teachers, who are the curriculum implementers. Findings of this study will be of help to STEM teachers who eventually will implement the curriculum. One cannot give to learners what one has not acquired or learnt. Teachers will realize and become aware of the advantages of sound ICT knowledge base and need the need for interest and positive attitude towards the use of ICT in teaching learning. They will make conscious efforts to be versatile, improve and enrich their lesson presentations with ICTs facilities. Tutors will be helped to impact programmed knowledge and skills on students from this awareness. Because science education teachers will see the need to comply with and utilize ICTs, lesson delivery will no longer be regarded as an uphill task, but a duty to be enjoyed; and students’ results are processed without the usual delay that is associated with it.
Pupils and students will be encouraged to learn actively and meaningfully both within and outside the classroom space. The upcoming new generation of Nigerian scientists will realize on time the need to be competent in the use of ICTs. Attention will be paid by learners to acquire necessary ICT skills that will help learn science effectively. School administrators, Principals and school heads at the various levels of education will realize the importance of the learners’ having access to ICTs. The wrong use of computers as decorative accessories in many of our Head teachers, Principals or Proprietors’ offices will reduce or stop as the facilities will be made available for the learners’ to utilize. STEM educators and adult learners through the findings of this study could be helped. Such awareness or knowledge could mean enhanced access to distant learning programme and on line learning. Finally, examining bodies and known educational institutions/ organizations and agencies (eg non-formal Education units of ministries of education, higher institutions’ authorities/ management, JAMB, WAEC, NECO, NTI, UNESCO, NABTEB, NCCE etc) could be guided from findings of this study on impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teacher attributes and students’ academic performance.
1.4 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study will be delimited to determining the impact of ICT access, its use and their influence on teacher attributes and students’ academic performance. The work will attempt to assess the access and usage (utilization) of ICT in teaching – learning. Some teacher factors will be considered such as ICT knowledge base, ICT communication skill, attitude to use of ICT, frequency of usage and interest in ICT; and placed side – by – side with students’ academic performance. The work will concentrate on tertiary institutions’ science students and secondary schools’ science teachers in Nasarawa State.
The study will be limited to science teachers in Secondary schools and science education undergraduates at the State Government owned University, Keffi, the Federal University, Lafia and those of the State Government owned College of Education, Akwanga. Geographically, the study will be limited to Nasarawa state.
1.5 Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms used in the text could be read and be understood as follows:
Impact
In this work, impact denotes how a phenomenon (in this case ICT access and use) has changed the life of its beneficiaries (in this case teacher attributes and students’ academic performance) Impact could be positive or negative, depending on the nature of changes brought about by the impact. Impact has to do with how people react to situation that exist.
ICT Access
ICT access has to do with sufficient availability of ICT facilities to the stakeholders especially for teachers and students in a school setting.
Its use
‘It’s use’ is talking of ICT utilization by the stakeholders, especially teachers and learners for the purpose for which it is provided. The various and wide range of usages and applications to which ICTs are essential make up its use.
Teacher Attributes
Teacher attributes are those factors that can affect teachers’ impact. Such teacher attributes mentioned in the study include: knowledge base, attitude, personality, interest, frequency of use, communication ability. There are some other factors not mentioned here that can still be regarded as teacher attributes.