Abstract:
Investment in ICT infrastructure to improve teaching and learning in schools have been
initiated by many governments globally with the effects being anticipated more in sciences
and mathematics, subjects in whom students have continued to register poor performance
year in year out. Despite all these investments, developing countries such as Kenya still
report minimal rates of integration of ICT tools such as computers in classroom practice due
to varied reasons. This study set out to review the extent to which demographic
characteristics, attitude, self-concept and computer anxiety predict science and mathematics
teachers extent of integration of computers in the teaching and learning of their subjects.
Data were collected from 83 science and mathematics teachers purposively sampled from 24
public secondary school in Kwale County with ICT infrastructure for integration using a selfreport
questionnaire adapted from the Teachers Attitude towards Computers Scale (Gattiker
& Hlavka, 1992), the Teachers Computer Anxiety Scale (Barbeite & Weiss, 2004) and selfconcept
instrument developed by Cambra and Silvestre (2003). The study findings revealed
that though almost all the teachers had some basic training in ICT, they reported very low
levels of utilisation of computers in classroom teaching. Further, it was observed that while
teachers’ qualification and computer attitude were significant predictors of the extent of their
integration of computers into classroom practice (p<0.05), their self-concept and computer
anxiety were insignificant predictors (p>0.05). Lastly, the study established that teachers’
qualification and computer anxiety had a positive influence on extent of integration though
attitude towards computer and self-concept had a negative influence. It is recommended that
school administrators and Ministry of Education officers enhance supervision of the
integration process to ensure that the ICT infrastructure already in schools are adequately
utilised.
