Quality Of Information And Communication Technology (Ict) Education At Gce (O/L) In Sri Lankan Schools
Creators: name: M.G.N.A.S. Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017

description: The focus of this study is on improving the quality of ICT education in Sri Lankan schools and about necessary enhancements to achieve international standards. The specific objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the factors that affect ICT education according to international perspectives (ii) investigate the present status of ICT education in Sri Lanka compared to international standards and those in the Asian region (iii) recognize the gap that  appears to affect the quality of ICT in Sri Lankan schools (iv) suggest possible enhancements to fill the gaps with ICT education in Sri Lanka, and (v) use the outcomes of the  objectives mentioned to develop a feasible application model towards enrichment of the ICT specialization subject for the GCE(O/L) curriculum in Sri Lankan schools.

For this purpose, a researchable framework was developed and used, utilizing the existing resources.   Activities based on blended learning and pedagogical techniques were built in. This study was carried out in two phases. Phase I, focused on the achievement of the specific objectives (i)-(iv) mentioned above. Phase II achieved the fifth objective of the study.  Three tier architecture was used as the design architecture of the study. The first two tiers cover Phase I while Tier 3 covers Phase II. Based on multi-stage sampling techniques, a survey was administered in 35 randomly selected schools in five purposively selected districts to find the present status in relation to ICT education. 48 ICT teachers, 32 principals and 1295 students participated in this survey. Further, in-depth data were collected from responsible officers of different responsible organizations (e.g. Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education) using structured interviews, questionnaires, and observations and other reliable sources. Gap analysis and other theoretical aspects were used as the theoretical foundation for both Phases I and II of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used in data analysis to derive the outcomes.  On the whole, 31 hypotheses were tested.

Based on the outcomes of the first tier of the research design through various activities, it was found that nine factors contributed towards maintaining quality ICT education. These factors are (i) National goals and budget allocations (ii) Infrastructural  facilities (iii) Curriculum development and related activities(iv) Software (v) Hardware maintenance based on sustainability plans (vi) Human resource development (vii) Research and development (viii) Support from and supportive initiatives (ix) Policy guidelines and monitoring plans.

In the second tier, the quantitative as well as qualitative strengths of the nine factors currently in Sri Lankan schools were determined. The outcome from this tier led to the development of a set of criteria to improve the quality of ICT education. A few important findings from Phase I include that on average 23 computers are available for use in schools. The present student: computer ratio is 12:1 while the estimated requirement remains at 24:1 for the ICT specialization subject (GCE (O/L) in Sri Lankan Schools. The important outcomes collected from inferential statistics of the study are as follows: Infrastructure facilities are sufficient to implement the ICT specialization subject in Sri Lankan schools while support from the administration and supportive initiative are marginally satisfied.  No disparities in both infrastructure and support from the administration and supportive initiative, were seen between different districts and schools’ category-wise. Further, human resource facilities and their strength, maintenance and sustainability plans, and curriculum implementation facilities are not found to be at a satisfactory level to implement the ICT specialization subject in Sri Lankan schools. Findings also reveal that stakeholders were not satisfied about the usage of only commercial software products and the study reveals that stakeholders are willing to use open source software to fulfil the software requirements related to the smooth functioning with ICT education in Sri Lankan schools.

A key finding in in Phase I reveals that the development of ICT pedagogical skills has been neglected or was not recognized in all districts as a need towards quality improvement in comparison with other requirements related to ICT education like: hardware, software, infrastructure, curriculum, and teacher training<strong>. </strong>Lack of pedagogical skills, derived particularly from theoretical foundations like Kolb’s Experiential Learning Circle, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Blended learning approaches, Role model, Stakeholders feedback and classroom observation, was evident.

The outcomes and recommendations from Phase I were used in Phase II to design an application model to develop the pedagogical skills of ICT teachers and students. Then the application model was validated with a suitable platform, and tested with an expert panel. Comprising an ICT expert, an ICT instructor and nine ICT teachers. The feedback and suggestions from ICT Teachers and other stakeholders and outcomes from the facial expression emotional model applied to the participant teachers were used to smarten and fine-tune the experimental application model. In the implementation of the facial expression emotional model, on average, 74% teachers demonstrated ‘Happily Feature’. This application model was once again implemented on and tested in with 61 students from three different schools. The analysis of outcomes shows that the students’ academic performance with problem solving capabilities increased by 19.5% gradually due to the different treatment levels in the activity model in this study. The study also proved that the Programming and Problem Solving unit showed high correlation with other course units in the curriculum.  The embedded techniques of the application model helped prove that Peer Learning, Blended Learning, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Circle, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Role Model and Activity Based Learning, contribute towards maintaining the quality of ICT education. However, support from higher authorities is essential to maintain the quality of the application model as well as to maintain the expected quality level of ICT education.

The outcome from implementation of the application model was supportive towards evidence to increase student performance to a satisfactory level. The study helped realize that both teachers and students welcomed the use of the application model towards motivation, problem solving and critical thinking, teamwork and reflection compared to face-to-face traditional teaching and learning. Therefore, Free and Open Source Software or Open Source Software is recommended as sufficient for the implementation of the ICT curricula in Sri Lankan Schools. The study recommends that all ICT teachers need well organized ICT teacher training programs embedded with adoptive learning and activity based learning programs. Teachers and students need more skills development activities in selected areas with the ICT subject (e.g. Programming and Problem Solving).

 In summary, this experimental study helped determine that guidance to use open source software to adopt learning techniques (e-learning and activity based learning) and pedagogical techniques with proper evaluation, are also required to achieve international standards with the ICT specialization subject in Sri Lankan schools.