Teachers' Competency in Integration of Information Communication Technology in Early Learning in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Integrating Information Communication Technology into curricula with the intent of positively influencing teaching and learning has been in a state of evolution over the past 20 years. The purpose of the study was to analyse teachers' competency in integration of ICT, into teaching and learning in early learning in Bungoma County, Kenya. The study was guided by Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK) by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler’s. The study population included Early Childhood Development (ECD) teachers, education officers in charge of ECD in the county and public primary school headteachers. Simple random sampling was used to obtain 177 ECD teachers which is 10% of 1,768 ECD teachers from 884 public primary schools in Bungoma County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. A questionnaire and interview schedule were the main primary data tools for data collection. The findings showed that Integration of ICT in early education is highly related to teachers’ ICT competencies, planning for instruction, teaching methods, teaching and learning materials and how assessment is done. The central issue in the integration of ICT into early learning is pegged on the instructors having the requisite ICT training. ICT integration in early learning is often attributed to the teachers thus, those teachers who competency and higher confidence are expected to integrate ICT in their classes. Teacher's underutilization of ICT in the classroom and their resistance to embedding ICT across the curriculum can be detrimental to attempts to introduce new teaching and learning technologies in education. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor teacher's ICT utilization and examine factors that contribute to their skeptical practices of teaching with technology.