factors affecting teachers’ adoption of ict into teaching and learning in iraq education system

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Factors Affecting Teachers’ Adoption of ICT into Teaching and Learning in Iraq Education System Dhiaa Alalgawi *1,4, Rosnafisah Bte Sulaiman 2, Norshakirah Binti Ab Aziz 3 1 College of Graduate Studies, Universiti Tenaga Nasional , Malaysia, 2,3 College of Information Technology, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia, 4 Directorate General for Education in Babylon, Ministry of Education, Iraq *1 [email protected] ; [email protected] ; 3 [email protected] Abstract

The importance of teachers’ roles in education is an undeniable fact either for developed or developing countries. The emergence of Internet Technology and the deployment of ICT into the education systems have created a new demand in expanding the teachers’ skills especially in the developing countries like Iraq. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting teachers’ adoption of ICT into teaching and learning in Iraqi secondary schools. ICT in this research context is considered as teaching or learning aid tools that could help to improvise the Iraq education system particularly at the secondary level. The political situation in Iraq has contributed to the difficulties in improving Iraq education system thus this research also aims to provide insights and possible solution to overcome or minimize the barriers with regards to utilizing ICT in teaching and learning process. This research used a quantitative approach using a survey method to gauge the factors that may influence ICT adoption at Iraq secondary schools. This includes personal preference, infrastructure, knowledge and skills, etc. The outcome from this research is a proposed framework that could assist the school management and teachers in implementing ICT into the teaching and learning processes. This paper discusses the literature review and early findings of this research.

Keywords

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); Iraq Education System; ICT adoption; Teaching and learning processes

Introduction

The education systems in most of countries in the world have evolved due to emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). However, in terms of infrastructure, applications, the development levels of ICT in teaching and learning as well as in implementation wise are differed by country, region, area, and institution. In Middle East, a developing country like Iraq, has demonstrated a wide range of

interest with regards to ICT development in education system such as “ICT in Education for Iraq” a project that was designed to build sustainable capacity in Iraqi Ministry of Education for the continuing quality improvement of teaching and learning, focusing on the use of ICT (Magambo, Justine. 2007) (ESCWA.2005) (Bureau, Partnerships.2008).

The quality of education depends on the qualities and abilities of teachers (Strong,James.2007). Well-trained, competent, and committed teachers can exceptionally deliver their knowledge to their students. Today, the quality of teaching and learning is also reflected with the used of teaching and learning aid such as computer, smart devices, multimedia applications in teaching and learning processes. However, the effectiveness of this tools or technology are not fully proven throughout its implementation at schools. Thus this study will investigate the factors that may affect the use of ICT in teaching and learning processes particularly at the secondary level.

Several factors such as lack of electricity, internet connection, training and infrastructure affect the adoption of ICT in the Iraqi education system. These factors act as barriers and challenges that slowing down the schools from adopting ICT in their classes. The ICT skills of teachers is one of the major factors, which must be improved to enable the younger generation to use technology and to make the educational standards of Iraq at par with other developed countries (ESCWA .2005) (Mumtaz , Shazia. 2000) (United Nation , E.2006).

According to UNESCO(UNESCO . 2003)and the Iraqi Ministry of Education ( MOED)(Dr Ala’din Alwan. 2004), Iraq was the first country in the Middle East to introduce basic computer and programming subjects in secondary and elementary schools. UNESCO also

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argues that the learning and teaching quality in Iraqi schools depends on the improvement of ICT knowledge and practices.

However, the Iraqi policies in the mid-1980s were mostly focused on the military affairs of the country with the neighbouring countries(MOF Iraq.2011)(De Sentisdteban.2005). The lack of attention toward the ICT sector has rendered all ICT efforts launched in the 1970s as obsolete, outdated, and stagnant. After three decades of war, economic hardships, and UN-imposed sanctions, the social infrastructure of Iraq collapsed, and several regions have become devoid of basic services(Sina, Ibn.2010).

The ICT barriers in the Iraqi secondary education system are similar to other countries. These barriers include societal rigidity, poor ICT education, and unfair income distribution. These barriers limit the access of students and teachers to ICT education. The accessibility of ICT depends on the availability of infrastructures that support such technology. The integration of ICT in the education system were reported largely depends on the availability, compe-tency, and attitudes of teachers toward using the technologies in the classroom(Vongalis-Macrow. 2006) (Eng, Saad AR Makki. 2011). However, not many studies can be found that highlighted the same issues in Iraq education system.

Therefore, this study measures the ICT literacy of Iraqi secondary school teachers and examines their needs to use ICT in their teaching activities. This study also highlights the positive and negative factors that affect the integration of ICT into the teaching process such as teachers’ attitudes, ICT Competence, teaching experience and infrastructure. These factors could be personal, institutional, or technological.

This study has a three-fold objectives. First, this study aims to assess the ICT skills of secondary school teachers in the Hilla district and the ICT tools that they use to assist their teaching process and to enhance their knowledge. Second, to identify the factors that affect the ICT adoption in the classroom, particularly the barriers and challenges to such adoption. Third, to gauge the perceptions and attitudes of teachers toward the utilization of ICT in secondary schools in the Hilla district. It is believed that future ICT projects in secondary schools will become successful if the above mentioned issues are addressed properly.

This paper is divided into six sections. Section One discusses the background and objectives of the

research. Section Two reviews the related literature. Section Three discusses the methodology. Section Four presents the results. Section Five discusses the results and presents the significants points. Section Six provides the conclusion and recommendations for future studies.

Literature Review

This section discusses several topics that are related to this study.

Overview of ICT development in Education System

Today, the ICT implementation has been recognised as one of important elements in school curriculum and as supportive tool for enhancing teaching and learning opportunities in the whole range of academic subjects (UNESCO, 2003)(ESCWA.2005). Facts showed that the developed countries England , Australia have made quite a considerable investment in ICT development and to integrate with their education systems by having a well formulated ICT national policies and specific strategies. The contents of the national curriculum statements of the countries like, the UK, the USA and Australia have provided clear evidence for this paradigm shift from traditional teaching and learning approach to the infusion of ICT as a significant tool in the school curricula (Kamau. 2012) (Tinio. 2003). Many terms were coined to represent this new way of learning such as e-learning, mobile learning, blended learning which mostly are assisted by certain learning management system (LMS) like blackboard, Moodle and others.

On the other hand the developing countries like Iraq and others are rapidly and heavily investing in ICTs despite the other challenges they face for instance insufficiency of infrastructure, resources, knowledge workers and technical skills with regards to ICT especially in the rural areas where most schools are located (Roy.2005). This situation has created a digital or technology gap between the developed and the developing countries. The developing countries like Iraq are not yet able to fully benefit from ICT in almost all aspects particularly in education (Chinn.2007). Today, most countries are moving towards ICT adoption and the agenda were included in their national policies in general and in their education system in particular(Komza,Rebort B.2005).

In Australia, for example, the Government has already set goals for schools in relation to ICT development. Their students should leave schools, as confident,

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creative and productive users of new technologies, citizens of society (Schiller,John.2002). The Philippines Department of Education has also formulated policies for ICT use (Rodrigo.2001). The same trend can be seen in Indonesia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and many more (Hayes.2007).

ICT adoption in Education System

A few countries were used as references and bench-marks for this study.

1) Kenya

Kenya has developed a National ICT Policy in 2006. It sets out the nation’s aims, principles and strategies for the delivery of Information and Communications Technology to improve the livelihoods of Kenyans (Opiyo. 2006). In response to the modern advancement in technology, the revised curriculum in Kenya incorporated ICT as a teaching tool in their education system. The Ministry of Education with a collaboration of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had introduced the National ICT Strategy for Education and Training. to improve Kenya education system. This is aimed at accelerating the 21st Century Education by improving the quality of primary and secondary education through the effective use of ICT. Several challenges were faced such as lack of adequate number of computers in the schools, inability to acquire sufficient computers (Farrell. 2007).

2) Nigeria

Nigeria as a nation has recognized the potential of ICT in their educational system well on time. A national policy on computer education was developed to cater the need for ICT deployment and integration with the Nigerian educational system(Yusuf.2005). In Nigeria, the ICTs usage is increasing and its growth is quite dramatic (Tella.2007). However, at school level, the ICT implementation is still lacking due to various factors. For instance, schools cannot afford to have ICT facilities due to high investment cost, lack of basic infrastructures such as electricity supply, lack of adequate training, and inadequate funding of internet connectivity(Owoloabi,2013). A research by Omoniyi and Quadri in 2013 reported that majority of teachers in secondary schools do not have the required competency in the use of ICT (Omoniya. 2013). Another study by Obakhume (Obakhume. 2011), most of the teachers lack

knowledge, competence to use ICT to facilitate teaching learning process(Sukamolson.2012).

Iraq Education System and Current Practice

The education standards in Iraq are still in progress. After several years of conflict and isolation, the Iraqi Government has called for intense efforts to expedite the educational development of the country. The efforts of Ministry of Education to improve the Iraqi education sector have been supported by international communities and civil societies. UNESCO–Iraq, a core group of international and national staff members, has launched several activities such as “Education for All”, policy reform for inclusive education and training of teachers and establishing an Education Management Information System essential to facilitating planning and decentralization to rebuild the Iraqi education system, which yield positive effects like enhance capacity for teacher education and established an education TV station, broadcasting 24 hours of educational television programming (UNESCO. 2003) (Sina , Ibn .2010).

Secondary education in Iraq consists of three years of intermediate education and three to five years of preparatory education. After finishing secondary education, the student may choose to pursue vocational (three years duration) or diploma courses (five years duration). Students can choose from two diploma courses, namely, Diploma in Fine Arts and Diploma in Primary Education. Students need to obtain these diplomas before entering a university (Roy,Delwin A. 1993).

MOED acknowledges the key role of teachers and their skills in strengthening and improving the Iraqi education sector. In-service teacher training in Iraq is managed by 20 in-service training centers (ISTCs) that are supervised by the Training and Education Development Institute (TEDI). Six of these centers are located in Baghdad, and the 12 remaining centers are distributed across the 18 provinces(USAID,I.2012).

The general directorates of education in each province are in charge of educational services, training and recruitment of teachers, therapy and preservation of schools, and synchronization with provincial learning committees.

ICT in Iraq Education System

ICT can be adopted in various ways. ICT does not only present innovation in the field of education, but also enhancing the efficiency of the teaching and learning


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processes as well as redefines the relationship between teachers and students. ICT facilities and resources, such as computers and the Internet, serve as important instructional tools for teachers. The adoption of ICT in schools can significantly improve pedagogical outcomes, which can benefit both teachers and students. However, it can be seen that the ICT adoption in the Iraqi education system remains unclear. No attempts to gauge the real ICT situation in Iraq that includes the skills of teachers, the availability of ICT infrastructures, and the factors that affect ICT adoption (Eng,Saad AR MAKKI.2011).

This could be due to the reconstruction and redevelop-ment of Iraq after three years of war and economic hardships that presented significant challenges. The continuous destruction of public infrastructures and systems, scarcity of resources, institutional incapacity, and backlog of developmental works were reported to contribute to this situation (ESCWA. 2005).

Most educational institutions require reconstruction, refurbishing, and additional resources for science, technology, and other practical subjects. Libraries need to be replaced. The promotion of creative practices and the transformation of the Iraqi education system remain dependent on the in-service training of teachers, who have been cut-off from the outside world for a long time, as shown in their limited access to global journals, textbooks, and online resources (De Santisteban. 2005).

Problems and Challenges

The opportunities that ICT provides for teaching and learning processes also come with challenges. Three main issues highlighted namely lack of funds, deterioration of infrastructure, and shortage of human resources that need to face and solve in Iraq education system. Another challenges would be lack of technical support in schools and the limited access to Internet and ICT facilities that prevent schools from integrating ICT into their curriculum. It was reported that the basic installation of ICT equipment in schools neither improves the standard of teaching nor promotes an efficient learning environment (ESCWA.2005) (MOF Iraq. 2011). Another barriers were also reported that include the lack of in-house training for teachers, shortage of ICT instructors, shortage of computers, shortage of electricity supply, limited Internet access, and shortage of ICT-equipped classrooms (ESCWA. 2005) (UNESCO.2003) (Sina,Ibn.2010).

However, not many studies can be found looking at

teachers’ point of view. This is important as teachers will be the executors in this teaching process. It is believed that the skills, preference and attitudes of teachers could also affect the decisions in their curriculum design. Therefore, the ICT skills of teachers and their level of readiness must be identified before ICT can be used widely in classrooms.

Methodology

This section explains the approach and the methods adopted for this study.

Quantitative Approach

A quantitative approach is used in this study. Research methods in education (and the other social sciences) are often divided into quantitative and qualitative methods. Creswell (1994) defined quantitative research as “Explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods”(Roy,Delwin A.1993). It involved collecting numerical data to explain a particular phenomenon, and will be based on certain type of questions.

The features of the population and sample are measured using the designed questionnaire and the scientific sampling methods. Online questionnaires were sent via email to the teachers working at the selected schools through the General Directorate of Education in Babylon. It is pertinent to mention here that the teachers selected for data collection participated in the research voluntarily and were given the assurance of the confidentiality of any information given. The questionnaire was pre-tested through a pilot study to assess its authenticity and to determine whether it was comprehensible for the target population. The efficacy (Mertens,D.M.1998) was reinforced with the consultation of field-experts at the General Directorate of Education in Babylon including the head of its Computer Department and inspectors of computer subject.

In Hilla district there are total eight secondary schools; five of them are for male whereas remaining three are for female. The total number of teachers, including male and female, are 336. The researcher made use of the Yamane formula (1973) (Yamane.1973) to identify appropriate total of teachers in this sample survey.

This formula is reliable to 95% and less than 5% deviation factor. The Formula is figured as:


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Therefore, the sampling size is 183 samples.

The final version of the questionnaire was sent to teachers officially via e-mail. It was sent to 200 teachers in selected schools. A duration of three weeks were given to the teachers to complete the questionnaire. The filled questionnaires were collected from the database in the server. The researcher selected 183 out of 193 filled questionnaires available in the database of the server.

Data Instrument

A survey was designed based on proposed framework that was derived throughout the literature review. The first section of the questionnaire focused on demographic information of the teachers including their gender, age, computer access, experience, and experience in the field of Information Technology, i.e. computer hardware, software and frequency of its use. The second, third and the fourth section of the questionnaire used Likert-scale to measure the responses.. In second section, to assess the knowledge and skills of ICT. The third section, to identify the factors which affected, positively or negatively, their preference of using ICT in teaching. The fourth section, to gauge opinion on strategies for increasing the effective usage of ICT in teaching and learning in Hilla secondary schools.

In order to determine the internal consistency of items related to ICT skills in the questionnaire, a reliability test was carried out using Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test(Cronbach,Lee.J.1951). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient came as 0.772 depicting that the observed variables had excellent internal consistency.

Data Analysis

The data collected from the survey was analysed by using computer software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0. The analysis of data was based on descriptive statistics. This technique facilitated the researcher to calculate the frequencies, means and standard deviations of the collected data. The Descriptive Statistics were also used to answer the research questions(Suhr, Diana. 2003).

The Results

This section summarizes the outcome of the study. It begins with the demographic information of the respondents (selected teachers). Then the descriptive statistics are applied on teachers’ professional expertise and academic knowledge. It is followed by the analysis of the factors influencing them while using ICT in their teaching practice. And finally descriptive statistics is again applied to analyse their opinion on strategies made for better utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning in Hilla secondary schools.

TABLE1 DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF RESPONDENTS

Variable Category Frequency N=183

Percent (%)

Gender Male 115 62.8

Female 68 37.2

Age

24 - 29 years 21 11.5 30 - 34 years 74 40.4 35 - 39 years 42 23.0 40- 44 years 28 15.3

More than 44 years 18 9.8

Education level Bsc. 165 90.2

Master 14 7.7 PhD 4 2.2

Owning Personal Computer

yes 180 98.4 No 3 1.6

Internet Access Inside school 10 5.5

outside school 173 94.5 In-service Training

Yes 136 74.3 No 47 25.7

Teaching experience

Below 5 years 21 11.5 5 – 9 years 87 47.5

10 – 14 years 45 24.6 15 - 20 years 12 6.6

More than 20 years 18 9.8

Computers experience

1 years 7 3.8 2-5 years 49 26.8

6-10 years 86 47.0 11-15 years 29 15.8

more than 15 years 12 6.6

Computer usage in class per week

No Access 73 39.9 2-4 Hours 85 46.4 6-8 Hours 17 9.3

10-12 Hours 6 3.3 More then 12 2 1.1

purposes of computer usage

internet browsing , social internet, email

94 51.4

Research, teaching and learning

32 17.5

All purposes 57 31.1

Demographic

The demographic information of teachers collected comprised of gender, age, teaching and computer experience, as well as the frequency of computer usage. The collected data was tabulated as shown in Table 1.

n=N/ [1+Ne2], where: e=deviation of sampling, N=size of population, N=size of sampling, Formulation: n=336/[1+(336X(0.05)2]= 336/[1.84]=182.6087=183


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The result indicate that the access of computer in class, 46.4% have it but only for 2 to 4 hours per week. Therefore, we can conclude that most of the teachers hold only 2 to 4 hours during the week chance provided by the availability of the electricity.

Teachers’ Skills and Knowledge

Teachers’ were asked to claim their ICT skills by measuring them on a Five point Likert-type scale ranging from VP=very poor, to VG=very good. Table 2 below shows that, the teachers need to carry out some improvements to their skills; the results also showed there is a real need to increase ICT skills, so that they are capable for the ICT adoption as stated in the proposed framework.

TABLE 2 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED ICT SKILLS

Variables VP (%)

P (%)

F (%)

G (%)

VG (%) Mean

St. Dev.

Browsing the Internet, downloading and

uploading files 1.1 4.4 3.8 38.8 51.9 4.36 0.839

Communicating with others via email and

social networks 0.5 1.6 9.3 41.0 47.5 4.33 0.758

Producing simple document using MS

Word processing 4.4 7.1 10.4 31.1 47.0 4.09 1.118

Create a basic presentation using MS

PowerPoint. 9.3 7.1 10.4 18.0 55.2 4.03 1.336

Setting up MS Windows and installing other

applications. 7.7 12.0 38.3 20.8 21.3 3.36 1.168

Create basic spreadsheet using MS Excel. 7.1 10.9 49.7 12.0 20.2 3.27 1.120

Preparing my lessons using ICT 8.2 43.7 18.0 8.7 21.3 2.91 1.306

Creating learning packages using

multimedia 2.7 45.9 26.8 8.7 15.8 2.89 1.133

Programming language 9.3 47.0 26.8 5.5 11.5 2.63 1.106 Creating database using

MS Access 16.9 50.8 12.0 8.7 11.5 2.47 1.208

Designing a webpage. 55.2 17.5 14.8 2.2 10.4 1.95 1.315

Scale: VP=Very poor P=Poor F=Fair G=Good VG=Very good

Factors That Affect ICT in Teaching and Learning

The teachers were asked to express their views about the factors affecting ICT adoption and integration in their teaching activities on a five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1), to strongly agree (5). The collected data was processed and tabulated in Table-3.

As shown in Table below, the majority of the respondents agree and strongly agree the barriers such as lack of electricity (mean=4.42), Inadequate number

of computer in computer lab (mean=4.05) , Lack of technicians in their schools (mean=3.90). Majority of the respondents disagrees or strongly disagrees about the availability of ICT equipments such as overhead projector (74.4%), Internet in classroom (90.2%) and networks in schools (85.8%).

TABLE 3 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Variables SD (%)

D (%)

N (%)

A (%)

SA (%)

Mean St. Dev.

Computer and overhead projector are very important in the

classroom.

1.1 3.8 1.1 29.5 64.5 4.52 0.797

I think it is important to improve my computer

skills. 1.1 4.4 3.3 33.9 57.4 4.42 0.841

Insufficient and irregular power supply (electricity)

in my school 2.2 3.3 1.6 36.1 56.8 4.42 0.860

I will use educational technologies if it is

offered in the classroom 4.9 4.4 1.6 31.7 57.4 4.32 1.053

The use of ICT increases my motivation as a

teacher 1.1 4.9 2.2 58.5 33.3 4.18 0.788

Inadequate number of computer in my computer

lab 7.1 9.8 1.6 33.3 48.1 4.05 1.239

Lack of technicians to help teachers with the

computer hardware and software

5.5 3.8 1.1 74.3 15.3 3.90 0.896

There is insufficient amount of In-serve

training on ICT 5.5 6.0 2.2 72.7 13.7 3.83 0.931

ICT equipment, such as overhead projector, is

available in my classroom.

14.8 59.6 2.7 18.0 4.9 2.39 1.093

I feel too old to learn how to use a computer

31.1 59.0 1.1 4.4 4.4 1.92 0.943

I avoid using computers in my classroom. 23.5 69.4 1.6 4.9 .5 1.90 0.699

My school has its own computer network. 54.1 31.7 1.6 9.8 2.7 1.75 1.069

Internet is available in my classroom. 74.9 15.3 4.4 2.2 3.3 1.44 0.929

Scale: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree N=Neutral A=Agree SA= Strongly Agree

Strategies in Improving ICT Adoption

Respondents’ response were sought to a wide range of agreement with the strategies suggested for improving ICT utilization into their teaching. A five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5), was used for this purpose. The results of the study were tabulated in Table 4 below.


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In most of the teachers’ opinion the suggested strategies are offering great opportunities to teachers for better usage of ICT in teaching and learning.

Therefore we conclude that there is appositive attitude to apply the proposed strategies suggested by this study. This will assist the government and all stakeholders to improve teacher situation.

TABLE 4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE PROPOSED STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ICT UTILIZATION

Variables SD (%)

D (%)

N (%)

A (%)

SA (%) Mean

St. Dev.

Government and other stakeholders should mobilize resources to

equip schools with ICT infrastructure

1.1 1.1 1.1 21.9 74.9 4.68 0.661

Encourage and support teachers financially to

own a personal computer 0.5 1.6 0.5 29.5 67.8 4.62 0.642

Curriculum developers should make computer

education one of the core subjects in secondary

schools.

1.1 1.6 2.7 24.6 69.9 4.61 0.725

Institutional partnership with professional and corporate bodies for

technical support

0.5 1.1 2.2 29.5 66.7 4.61 .645

Teacher-initiated programs that promote

interactions with students through ICT.

0.5 2.2 3.3 29.5 64.5 4.55 0.716

Period organization of workshops, seminars,

conferences, and sessions 2.2 3.8 4.9 23.5 65.6 4.46 .918

Adequate provision of computer hardware for teachers and students

2.2 5.5 2.7 24.6 65.0 4.45 .947

Provision of alternative sources of electricity

supply 4.4 3.8 4.9 26.8 60.1 4.34 1.041

Scale: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree N=Neutral A=Agree SA= Strongly Agree

Results Discussion

Depend on the result, this study provides contributions in two important areas. Its first contribution is that it has revealed the actual state and levels of ICT skills of the teachers. In addition to the challenges or barriers they have to face while adopting it in teaching and learning at secondary schools of Hilla a district of Iraq’s Babylon province. This picture of the current situation will definitely be proved as a great help in setting targets and things to do for achieving the ideal state of ICT integration and adoption at secondary schools level. The conclusions

of research also include a set of recommendations for a reality-based, comprehensible, and practicable action plan to increase the usefulness of ICT adoption and integration at Hilla secondary schools. These recommendations include also proposed strategies for enhancing the effective utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning.

Summary of Significant Founded Points

It was also found that majority of the teachers receive ICT training while in service. Whereas those devoid of any ICT training is also not less as it stands 25.7% of the total.

The findings of this study revealed that majority of teachers were good at word processing. Obviously, the teachers should be more proficient in word processing than the other applications; hence we can deduce from this that teachers have not got mastery of ICT skills in many applications.

The study reveals that majority of the teachers are computer and ICT literate. Though it is a good sign, yet a lot is to be done. Similarly the teachers who are good at ICT must enhance their skills in other computer-Apps like MS Excel and in webpage designing etc.

It is of worth noting that the level of ICT training of the teachers is not up to the mark reason being the lack of proper ICT in-service exposure. Their ICT skills in some of applications are not adequate for implementing and executing it in schools. They lack the proper knowledge and skill to use various software and multimedia gadgets. Hence they need further training. There is also a dearth of infrastructures suitable for the implementation of these technologies.

The study also reveals that both hardware and software were not much integrated into teaching and learning processes by teachers. Therefore, we can rightfully say that use of ICT and related technologies is still at its early stages of its development and implementation.

The results of the study also reveal that the general integration of ICT in teaching activities is quite low. This attributes to shortage of electricity, less access to technological resources in classroom and inadequate teachers’ training skills in the use of the equipment.


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Conclusion

This section concludes this paper and describe the recommendation and insights from this study as well as limitation and future works.

Given to those considerations that mentioned , an ICT development framework must be established to improve the competency of teachers in their ICT adoption. This framework can represent the essential characteristics of ICT development, which can guide teachers and education stockholders.

The research framework can be used as a basis for the development of teacher’s ICT skills. Further study related ICT skill standards for teachers should be set up which offers strategies for planning training needs and staff development programs in order to equip them with essential skills important in adoption and use of ICT tools in classroom.

Recommendation and Insights

From the results of the study, it is recommended that the government and all stakeholders should apply the proposed strategies suggested by this study.

Power supply in the Iraq is suffering from a big shortfall. ICT operations require uninterrupted electric supply for its maximum use. Therefore, power supply should be massively increased, improved and worked upon so as to enhance the effective and uninterrupted use of ICT in secondary schools. The study recognizes the need for adequate power supply so as to provide ICT access to all schools.

The internet is a major driver of ICT in education and bandwidth is a major issue in the deployment of e-learning. Therefore government should make internet connectivity a priority for secondary education system to be able to leverage on opportunities of ICT in teaching and learning process.

Teachers should be given adequate training on how to integrate ICT in teaching and learning. They should also be encouraged to acquire the sufficient knowledge and good skills in integrating the technology in classrooms.

Teachers should be trained in extensive use of ICT rather than general training in computer use, ICT skills, and word processing. Other packages need to be taught as well so that the teachers could identify the importance of these packages in teaching. At the same time, the investment and planning for training ICT teachers shouldn’t be considered as an additional cost

and should be an initial investment for bringing changes in teaching and school.

Teachers should be provided with adequate technological support by organizing workshops, seminars, conferences, and sessions for them and quite a sufficient time for practicing well the ICT tools as a part of their in-service training. Finally, teachers should be provided with adequate technological resources, technical as well as administrative support to encourage them to successfully use ICT in classrooms.

Limitation

This study was limited to only teachers in Hilla secondary schools at Babylon province in Iraq. Moreover, it could only use the quantitative research method (survey) and not the qualitative research method (interview) due to the long distance between Malaysia and Iraq.

Future Works

Further study for a deeper examination could be carried out to find out why is there a lack in ICT infrastructure and capacity building for the teachers sector. In this framework, there are different aspects of ICT skills, which still lack the depth. Therefore, further research is recommended to be conducted for creating more depth in the framework.

Further research on the perception of teachers and students towards the use of ICT in enhancing teaching and learning and relevant strategies for using ICT to improve teaching and learning practices could also be conducted.

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Education Journal 6, no. 3 (2005): 316-321. Dhiaa Alalgawi was born in Babylon , Iraq in 1970 . He received his B.Sc. in computer science from The University of Mustansiriyah , Baghdad , Iraq in 1993. Currently he is working as teacher in Directorate General for Education in Babylon, Ministry of Education , Iraq . Now he is doing his MIT in College of Graduate Studies, Universiti Tenaga Nasional , Malaysia. His area of interest include information system and E-learning.

Rosnafisah Sulaiman (PhD),is currently a senior lecturer in Information Systems Department, College of IT, UniversitiTenagaNasional, Malaysia. Her research interests are e-Business, Information systems strategy, Knowledge Management and Human Computer Interaction.

factors affecting teachers’ adoption of ict into teaching and learning in iraq education system

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