Access to Electricity in Ghanaian Basic Schools and ICT in Education Policy Rhetoric: Empirical Quantitative Analysis and Access Theory Approach

Full Text (PDF, 600KB), PP.23-33

Views: 0 Downloads: 0

Author(s)

Issah Baako 1,* Prosper Gidisu 1 Sayibu Umar 1

1. Department of Mathematics/ICT Education, Bagabaga College of Education, Ghana

* Corresponding author.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijeme.2023.05.02

Received: 19 Dec. 2022 / Revised: 12 Jan. 2023 / Accepted: 3 Mar. 2023 / Published: 8 Oct. 2023

Index Terms

Basic schools, EMIS, electricity access, ICT policy, access theory, SDGs, ICT integration, ICT4E

Abstract

The attempt to integrate ICTs into the education system in Ghana has existed close to two decades following the adoption of the ICT for Accelerated Development (ICTAD) policy in 2003. However, empirical quantitative studies to analyse the access of basic schools to electricity, which is the major power of technology devices, over the period appear non-existent. This article is a descriptive quantitative analysis of basic school access to electricity for the academic years 2010 / 2011 to 2017/2018 using secondary data obtained from the Educational Management and Information System (EMIS) through the lens of Access Theory. The study was undertaken using secondary educational statistical data and document reviews as data sources. The results of the data analysis indicate a low electricity access rate in basic schools in the Northern Region of the country. The study concludes that the gap between the ICT in education policy rhetoric and the reality in ICT for education (ICT4E) at the Ghanaian basic school level appears unhealthy and requires stakeholders’ immediate attention to realize the desired impact of ICT in education policy if the goal of the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 10 need to be success. The findings of these studies provide valuable insights for policymakers and education stakeholders in designing effective policies and interventions to improve access to electricity and promote the integration of ICT in basic education.

Cite This Paper

Issah Baako, Prosper Gidisu, Sayibu Umar, "Access to Electricity in Ghanaian Basic Schools and ICT in Education Policy Rhetoric: Empirical Quantitative Analysis and Access Theory Approach", International Journal of Education and Management Engineering (IJEME), Vol.13, No.5, pp. 23-33, 2023. DOI:10.5815/ijeme.2023.05.02

Reference

[1]Government of Ghana, The Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy. Accra, 2003, pp. 1–85.
[2]E. Bureau, “The Fourth Strategy on IT in Education,” The Government of the Special Administrative Region, 2020. https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/applicable-to-primary-secondary/it-in-edu/ite4.html (accessed Jul. 23, 2020).
[3]E. N. Ngobolo, F. Ruparaganda, C. K. Mukundu, and G. Munjoma, “Factors affecting ICT Policy Implementation in Rural Namibian Schools,” Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 224–243, 2012.
[4]Ministry of Education, National Pre-Tertiary Education Curriculum Framework. Ghana, 2018, pp. 1–92.
[5]M. B. Eisenberg, “Information Literacy: Essential skills for the information age,” Journal of Library & Information Technology, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 39–47, 2008, doi: 10.1080/87568225.2013.766097.
[6]D. Whetzel, “The Secretary of Labor’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills,” Washington DC, Mar. 1992. [Online]. Available: www.eric.ed.gov
[7]Y. I. al Mofarreh, “Implementation of ICT policy in secondary schools in Saudi Arabia,” Doctoral thesis, University of Wollongong, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4718/
[8]E. N. Kumi, “The Electricity Situation in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities,” CGD Policy Paper. Washington DC. Center for Global Development, pp. 1–30, 2017, [Online]. Available: www.cgdev.orgwww.cgdev.org
[9]C. Buabeng-Andoh, “Factors that influence teachers’ pedagogical use of ICT in secondary schools: A case of Ghana,” Contemp Educ Technol, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 272–288, 2019, doi: 10.30935/get.590099.
[10]E. Ankrah and M. Abah, “Assessment of Usage and Impact of ICT Centres for Digital Inclusion in Ghana,” Journal of Information Science, Systems and Technology, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 45–63, 2020.
[11]G. Ministry of Education, ICT in education policy. Accra, Ghana: Ministry of Education, Ghana, 2008. Accessed: Sep. 21, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://en.unesco.org/icted/sites/default/files/2019-04/15_ict_in_education_policy_ghana.pdf
[12]J. Colgan, “The International Energy Agency: Challenges for the 21st Century,” Berlin, 6, 2009. [Online]. Available: www.gppi.net
[13]T. Zhang, X. Shi, D. Zhang, and J. Xiao, “Socio-economic development and electricity access in developing economies: A long-run model averaging approach,” Energy Policy, vol. 132, pp. 223–231, Sep. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.031.
[14]T. Squires, “The impact of access to electricity on education: Evidence from Honduras,” Job Market Paper, Brown University, pp. 1–36, 2015.
[15]E. Arthur-Nyarko and M. G. Kariuki, “Learner access to resources for eLearning and preference for eLearning delivery mode in distance education programs in Ghana,” International Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 1–8, 2019, [Online]. Available: http://educationaltechnology.net/ijet/
[16]D. I. Paul and J. Uhomoibhi, “Solar electricity generation: Issues of development and impact on ICT implementation in Africa,” Campus-Wide Information Systems, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 46–62, 2014, doi: 10.1108/CWIS-05-2013-0018.
[17]G. Mozhaeva, A. Feshchenko, and I. Kulikov, “E-learning in the Evaluation of Students and Teachers: LMS or Social Networks?” Procedia Soc Behav Sci, vol. 152, pp. 127–130, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.168.
[18]K. Rana, J. Greenwood, W. Fox-Turnbull, and S. Wise, “A Shift from traditional Pedagogy in Nepali rural primary schools? Rural teachers’ Capacity to Reflect ICT Policy in Their Practice,” Int J Educ Dev Using Inf Commun Technol, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 149–166, 2018.
[19]K. B. M. Rana, “ICT in Rural Primary Schools in Nepal: Context and Teachers’ Experiences,” University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324715393%0AICT
[20]S. Sahay, “Investigating Teachers’ Perspectives Towards ICT in Integration in Classrooms in Delhi, India,” no. December 2018, 2018, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20075.08482.
[21]L. D. Prasojo, A. Mukminin, A. Habibi, R. Hendra, and D. Iqroni, “Building quality education through integrating ICT in schools: Teachers’ attitudes, perception, and barriers,” Quality - Access to Success, vol. 20, no. 172, pp. 45–50, 2019.
[22]J. Wang, D. E. H. Tigelaar, and W. Admiraal, “Connecting rural schools to quality education: Rural teachers’ use of digital educational resources,” Comput Human Behav, vol. 101, pp. 68–76, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.009.
[23]S. Kara, “Prospective Visual Arts Teachers’ Innovation Skills and Attitudes toward Computer Assisted Instruction,” International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, vol. 4, no. 2, 2020, doi: 10.46328/ijtes.v4i2.60.
[24]S. Mlambo, P. Rambe, and L. Schlebusch, “Effects of Gauteng province’s educators’ ICT self-efficacy on their pedagogical use of ICTS in classrooms,” Heliyon, vol. 6, no. January, p. e03730, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03730.
[25]M. A. Yeop, Mohd Faiz Mohd Yaakob, Kung Teck Wong, Y. Don, and F. M. Zain, “Implementation of ICT Policy (Blended Learning Approach): Investigating factors of Behavioural Intention and Use Behaviour,” International Journal of Instruction, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 767–782, 2019.
[26]A. Ivanković, S. Špiranec, and D. Miljko, “ICT Literacy among the Students of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Mostar,” Procedia Soc Behav Sci, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.261.
[27]E. Woyo, G. D. Rukanda, and Z. Nyamapanda, “ICT policy implementation in higher education institutions in Namibia: A survey of students’ perceptions,” Educ Inf Technol (Dordr), pp. 1–18, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s10639-020-10118-2.
[28]S. P. Carter, K. Greenberg, and M. S. Walker, “The impact of computer usage on academic performance: Evidence from a randomized trial at the United States Military Academy,” Econ Educ Rev, vol. 56, pp. 118–132, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.12.005.
[29]K. Morehead, J. Dunlosky, and K. A. Rawson, “How Much Mightier Is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking? A Replication and Extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014),” Educ Psychol Rev, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 753–780, 2019, doi: 10.1007/s10648-019-09468-2.
[30]P. A. Mueller and D. M. Oppenheimer, “The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking,” Psychol Sci, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 1159–1168, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0956797614524581.
[31]T. Oppenheimer, “The computer delusion,” Philosophy is everybody’s business, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–28, 2003.
[32]B. El-Daou, “The effect of using in computer skills on teachers’ perceived self-efficacy beliefs towards technology integration, attitudes and performance,” World Journal on Educational Technology, vol. 8, no. 3, 2016.
[33]H. Zyad, “Pre-service training and ICT implementation in the classroom: ELT teachers’ perceptions,” Int J Educ Dev Using Inf Commun Technol, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 4–18, 2016.
[34]B. Eickelmann and M. Vennemann, “Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding ICT in teaching and learning in European countries,” European Educational Research Journal, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 733–761, 2017, doi: 10.1177/1474904117725899.
[35]J. Tondeur, P. A. Ertmer, J. van Braak, and A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich, “Understanding the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and technology use in education: A systematic review of qualitative evidence,” Educational Technology Research and Development, vol. 65, pp. 555–575, 2017.
[36]J. C. Ribot and N. L. Peluso, “A Theory of Access,” Rural Sociol, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 153–181, 2003.
[37]R. Austin and B. Hunter, “ICT Policy and Implementation in Education: Cases in Canada, Northern Ireland and Ireland,” Eur J Educ, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 178–192, 2013, doi: 10.1111/ejed.12013.
[38]S. G. Bunker, “Toward a theory of ecologically unequal exchange,” in Ecologically unequal exchange, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, pp. 13–47.
[39]N. K. Denzin, “Triangulation 2.0*,” J Mix Methods Res, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 80–88, Apr. 2012, doi: 10.1177/1558689812437186.
[40]R. K. Yin, “Validity and generalization in future case study evaluations.,” Evaluation, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 321–332, 2013.
[41]M. P. Johnston, “Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come,” Qualitative and Quantitative methods in libraries, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 619–626, 2014.
[42]G. Ministry of Education, ICT in Education Policy, no. 1. 2015, pp. 1–49.
[43]UNDP, “Sustainable Development Goals,” 2015. Accessed: Oct. 01, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2020.pdf
[44]UNDP, “The Sustainable Development Goals Report,” 2020.
[45]A. Prince, O. I. Fuseini, C. Nana, and K. Appiah, “Policy Analysis on ICT in Education: A Case of Public High Schools in New Juaben Municipal of Ghana,” Public Policy and Administration Research, pp. 1–23, 2019, doi: 10.7176/ppar/9-7-05.
[46]M. P. Opoku, E. Badu, and B. A. Alupo, “Effort at Implementing ICT Policy in Basic Schools in Ghana: An Assessment of Available Facilities and Resources for Successful ICT Education within the Atwima Nwabiagya District in Ashanti Region,” Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 183–194, 2016, [Online]. Available: www.mindamas-journals.com/index.php/sosiohumanika
[47]V. S. Tchamyou, G. Erreygers, and D. Cassimon, “Inequality, ICT and Financial Access in Africa,” AGDI Working Paper, vol. No. WP/18/048, pp. 1–36, 2018.
[48]A. J. A. M. van Deursen and J. A. G. M. van Dijk, “The first-level digital divide shifts from inequalities in physical access to inequalities in material access,” New Media Soc, vol. 21, no. 2, 2019, doi: 10.1177/1461444818797082.
[49]M. S. Mohammed, M. A. Mona, and K. J. O’Sullivan, “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy: A Quantitative Assessment for Sustainable Development,” Journal of Information & Management, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 227–239, 2010.