ICT Competence Of TVET Trainee-Teachers: A Case Study In Islamic University Of Technology

ICT Competence Of TVET Trainee-Teachers: A Case Study In Islamic University Of Technology

Faruque A. Haolader1 And Kasagga Usama2

Department of Technical and Vocational Education

Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

The importance of ICT in empowering teachers and learners, and enhancing teaching and students achievement has been highlighted in several studies. ICT integration in the developing nations needs to be addressed so as to ensure total integration of ICT in the school curriculum. This study examines the level of basic ICT competence of technical and vocational education training (TVET) trainee-teachers from different OIC countries. The differences in basic ICT competence of the trainee teachers having different educational background were also examined. The data was collected through a competence test and it was analysed using percentages, means, and t-test statistics. It has been found that the majority of the TVET trainee teachers were competent in the field of ICT. However, trainee-teachers coming from Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) background did relatively better than the trainee- teachers from Mechanical and Chemical Engineering (MCE) and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) groups. The ICT competences of the MCE and EEE groups were found similar.

Keywords TVET trainee-teachers; ICT Competence; TVE

1. Introduction

   Information and communications technologies (ICT) are a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information. Communication and information are at the very heart of the educational process, consequently ICT- use in education has a long history. ICT has played an educational role in formal and non-formal

   settings, in programs provided by governmental agencies, public and private educational institutions, for-profit corporations and non-profit groups, and secular and religious communities.

   The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming an integral part of education in many parts of the globe (Sala, 2004; Kuntoro& Al-Hawamdeh, 2003; Leidner&Jarvenpaa, 1993). Bangladesh is not left behind as ICT gradually finds its way into the educational systems (Ajayi, n.d.; Darkwa & Mazibuko, 2000; Brown, 2002; Darkwa&Eskow, 2000) despite chronic limitations brought about by economic disadvantages (Adesola, 1991).

   The potentials of information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate students learning, improve teaching and enhance institutional administration had been established in literature (Kazu & Yavulzalp, 2008; Kirschner & Woperies, 2003). The use of information and communication technology as a tool for enhancing students learning, teachers instruction, and as catalyst for improving access to quality education in formal and non-formal settings has become a necessity.

   The fundamental strategies of higher education institutions outline the need to form citizens able to participate responsibly in all the fields of social life, and act productively and creatively in the development of their functions. In addition, they encourage the curricular design centred in learning and based on competencies; including proficiency in ICTs, as one of the alternatives that allows achieving the objective of education and pertinence in relation to the transformations occurring in the world.

   Huerta, Perez and Castellanos (2000), consider that the globalised world requires an increase in the productivity of social actors. They have also highlighted the need for mechanisms that allow changing the educational process with respect to the organization, contents and teaching methods in order to connect education more effectively with the real work, to acquire qualified staff capable of responding to the needs of production, technological innovation, the management of ICTs and competition in global markets.

   The development of competencies is proposed as an approach that is closer to the needs of the labour market (Ben Youssef and Dahmani, 2008). It can be said that competent persons, in any given profession, are those who perform well the role that is expected from them. This definition corresponds with Ibarras (Estévez et al., 2003: 5), who defines competencies as a set of abilities, skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for optimal performance in a given occupation or productive role. Linking this concept to ICT competencies, it can be said that the latter are a group of skills, knowledge and attitudes that are applied to the use of information and communication systems, including the equipment involved, and specifically, according to Godoy (2006), the ability to make Web designs, manage presentations, databases, graphics software, spreadsheets, online bibliographic databases, web browsers, e-mail and chat applications, and word processors, among others. ICT skill is one of the employability skills recommended by UNESCO (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 2011; Dlamini, P., 2011).

   The main objective of this study was to investigate the competence of TVET trainee teachers in the field of information and communication technology (ICT). Therefore, this study examined: (1) the level of competence of trainee-teachers in using the ICT.

   (2) The influence of educational background on TVET trainee-teachers competence in ICT.

   The study was guided by the following questions:

   (1) Whether TVET trainee-teachers have the basic competencies in field of basic ICT. (2) If there is any difference in the level of ICT competence of the trainee-teachers with background of computer science and engineering, electrical and mechanical engineering.

2. Scope and Methodology

   This study measured ICT competence of TVET trainee-teachers from different OIC countries including Comoros, Uganda, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Senegal, Gambia, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Trainee-Teachers are pursuing Bachelor of Science in Technical Education (B.Sc.TE) at the Department of Technical and Vocational Education of Islamic University of Technology. The number of teachers (participants) was 36. Among these participants: 10 have electrical engineering background, 10 mechanical engineering and 16 computer science and engineering background. There were no female trainee teachers. The data was analyzed quantitatively.

   Test Instrument

   The aim of the test was to find out the level of basic ICT competence of TVET trainee teachers. The test instrument used for this research was developed by the authors. However, some test- items were taken from standardized test designed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in London and some were self-designed. It consists of 30 Multiple-Choice Items. The test measured five categories of ICT competences of the trainee teachers. The duration of the test was 30mins. Category A included six questions on Basic computer operation and issues it measured the competences such as data protection, I/O devices, data storage, PC operation and basic commands. Category B contained 6 questions and focused on Use of office application software. it measured the competences such as editing and formatting word document, basic understanding of office applications, etc. Category C contained 7 questions and focused on use of internet resources. It measured the competences such as health and safety issues, basics of Internet, e-communication skills etc. Category D contained 6 questions and focused on use of Peripheral ICT equipment. It measured the competences such as different pats of computer, printer, scanners, cameras etc. Category E contained 5 questions and focused on Graphical software. It measured the competences such as photo editing, digital image capturing, image formats etc.

   To validate the test, it was presented to experts/ teachers. They reviewed the items. These teachers/ experts have a long teaching and/or industry

   experience in the field of ICT. They have assessed the test questions on the basis of a five-point leickert type scale. They were asked if the content of these questions were relevant to basic ICT Skills. Furthermore, this questionnaire asked: the degree of complexity and comprehensibility.

   The results of this assessment are shown in Figure 1 to 3.

   Figure 1: ICT-relevancy of the tasks assessed by experts/teachers

   Figure 2: The degree of comprehensibility of the task assessed by experts/teachers

   Figure 3: The degree of complexity of the task assessed by experts/teachers

3. Findings:

Competency level of TVET trainee-teachers

The quantitative data was analyzed statistically using mean, standard deviation, bench mark to present the details about the competence of trainee- teachers in the field of ICT. Furthermore, T-test and ANOVA was used to find the answer of the research questions. Bench mark was defined as: (Very competent = more than or equal to 85%, competent = 84% -70%, average = 69% -55% and not competent= below 55%) (IUT CALENDAR, 2011), pp 43).

The competence test results show that TVET trainee teachers have an average level of competency as compared to the Bench Mark given above. The average points achieved by trainee teachers were found above 55%. The Table 1 and Figure 4 show the statistics and the histogram of the scores, respectively.

Table 1: Statistics of trainee teacher achievement in competency test

Figure 4: The histogram of score obtained by TVET trainee-teachers.

In this study we also investigated that if any difference in ICT competence of the trainee teachers having different educational background. The histograms of the marks obtained by these three groups of trainee-teachers are shown in Figure 5 to 7.

The data of these three groups were analyzed using the ANOVA test. It is seen, as in Table 2, that the three groups (CSE, EEE and MCE) differ with F value = 4.115 and the significance level p is 0.025.

Table 2: The differences among three groups of trainee- teachers having different educational background.

Figure 5: The histogram of score obtained by trainee- teachers having Computers Science and Engineering background.

Figure 7: The histogram of trainee-teachers having Electrical engineering background.

Figure 6: The histogram of trainee-teachers having Mechanical Engineering background.

The findings shows that trainee-teachers competence in ICT differs significantly, compared to the p-value + 0.05. However, it may happen that not all three groups differ from each other. There may be trainee-groups whose performances are more or less similar.

The Student Newman-Keuls test, also labeled as

post-hoc analysis, was applied in order to make a posteriori pair-wise comparison. The results of this test are given in Table 3.

Table 3: Homogeneous subsets of different backgrounds in TVE

In Table 3 all the three groups of trainees with different backgrounds belong to subset 1. It shows that these three groups do not differ among themselves so significantly, because it lies only on the p-value = 0.05.

Therefore, the results of the two tests (the ANOVA and the Student Newman-Keuls test) conducted above contradict each other. But, based on our own observation, particularly the statistics from Figure 5 to 7, we can say that the performance of MCE- Group and EEE-Group are similar, and the performance of CSE-Group is relatively better compared to other two groups.

TVET trainee-teachers ICT competency in different task categories.

To further examine trainee teachers ICT competence the test items in five different categories as mentioned earlier, the test in table 4 scores are presented (categories-wise) of ANOVA shows that Fcal = 1.737and Fcri = 2.68 as Fcal was less than Fcri. The Sig. = 0.162greater than 0.05, which means that the differences between the task categories have no significant.

Table 4: Statistics of TVET trainee-teachers competencies on different task categories.

Table 5: Comparison of trainee teachers competency on different task categories: results of ANOVA.

The Student Newman-Keuls test, also labeled as

post-hoc analysis, was applied in order to make a posteriori pair-wise comparison. This test reveals the differences between categories. The results of this test are given in Table 6.

In Table 6 Category Graphical software tools

within Subset 1 attained a category average of only

51.37 points (the lowest category average), whereas, other Categories which belong to subset 2 do not differ among themselves so much (p-value 0.281).

Table 6: Homogeneous subsets of different categories.

Student-Newman-Keuls

1. Discussion

   The potentials of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an educational tool in teacher education had been well established by several studies. This study investigated TVET trainee- teachers competencies in the field of ICT. The finding of this study indicates that TVET trainee teachers, who are studying at the Department of Technical and Vocational Education at IUT have an average level of competency towards the use of ICT.

   This study also revealed significant positive effect of TVET trainee-teachers educational background on the development of ICT competencies. However, among the five categories, the trainee-teachers were found having insufficient competencies in using Graphical Design Tools.

2. Implications

   Ultimately, we hoped to provide teacher-trainers, educators and professional developers with specific suggestions for preparing and supporting trainee teachers in their efforts to prepare training courses with required ICT competences. These suggestions may help policy makers in OIC member countries to create a roadmap which will lead teachers to become sufficient users of ICT in their classes.

   This study highlighted that trainee teachers need to be aware of more basic as well as advanced ICT applications and they need to be further educated regarding use of peripheral ICT equipment and graphical software.

3. Conclusions

   In this study, it was found that TVET trainee teachers have an average level of competency towards the use of ICT. The results revealed that among the basic ICT competency different categories came well, trainee teachers in the area of Basic computer operation and issues, Use of office application software and Use of Internet Resources.

   However the same trainee teachers lacked required competence in the Use of Peripheral ICT Equipment and Graphical software tools. The findings underscore the need to introduce trainee teachers to more courses on ICT with needed hands-on experiences.

   Furthermore, this competences test measured only the basic ICT competencies of the trainee-teachers, therefore, the authors recommend that the in-depth ICT competences should be measured according to UNESCO ICT competency Standards for teachers.

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