TUTORS’ AND STUDENTS’ UTILIZATION OF ICT IN THE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN THE EASTERN REGION, GHANA

ABSTRACT

The study examines tutors’ and students’ utilization of ICT in the colleges of

education in the Eastern Region of Ghana. In all, 257 respondents, made up of 176 students

and 81 tutors, representing a retrieval rate of 95.2%, responded to the questionnaires with an

alpha reliability of (0.759 for tutors and 0.712 for students) and this formed the sample of

study. The study which was descriptive in nature employed the use of questionnaires for the

collection of data. Frequencies were tallied and their corresponding percentages computed

and were presented in tables.

Generally, computers were available in all the six colleges of education but were

inadequate for students use since the student-computer ratio is approximately 17:1. Again,

although majority of 146 (56.8%) respondents had personal computers, they hardly used

them. Also, the computer laboratories 86 (33.5%), internet cafés 82 (31.9%) and offices 69

(26.8%) mainly served as the venues for accessing ICT services by the respondents. Further,

inadequate computers and peripherals for the students, conflicting teaching-time schedule,

and dysfunctional hardware were the main barriers to the successful integration of ICT in the

colleges of education. However, the colleges of education could improve access, availability

and proficiency through tutors and students development programmes. Provision could also

be made by Principals on the teaching-time schedule for students to improve their proficiency

levels. Tutors, on the other hand, should be trained adequately by the Ministry of Education

to enable them integrate ICT in their teaching and learning process effectively.