Exploring the attitude of the head and deputy head teachers from the governments schools of Sindh and Balochistan toward using computers in education
Date of Award
8-1-2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
Attitudes play a very significant role in acceptance of any idea or innovation. Prior research studies have established the significance of computers and the attitude of head teachers which can either be a hindering factor or a facilitator for computer integration in education. To explore the attitudes of the head teachers in the Pakistani context, this study was conceptualised. The major aim of the study was to determine the attitudes of head teachers from Sindh and Balochistan towards the use of computers in education, while the subsidiary aim was to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics of the participants and their attitude towards the use of computers in education. A survey questionnaire was adopted from Pelgrum and Plump (1993) to gather data. Through this tool, a sample of 185 head teachers was assessed for their computer attitudes with four factors; perceived educational impact, perceived social impact, training needs and self-confidence. The sample was drawn from the participants of the Educational Leadership and Management (ELM) course, offered as part of the Ed-Links project. The participants comprised a mix of rural and urban areas of Sindh and Balochistan. The results show that the participants' perceived attitude towards computers in education is positive. On individual sub-scales, participants' perceived social impact of computers and their self-confidence is found to be lower than the educational and training needs. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the head teachers' attitude towards computers in education and the use of computers and prior training. ln sub-scales model, prior training contributes to the training needs' model while use of computer, contributed to the self-confidence model. The study has highlighted the importance of providing computers to the head teachers in their offices and need for offering relevant training programmes for the head teachers and deputy heads from Sindh and Balochistan. A1so, further research is needed to understand the relationship between attitudes towards computers and its actual use in schools.
Recommended Citation
Karim, D. (2009). Exploring the attitude of the head and deputy head teachers from the governments schools of Sindh and Balochistan toward using computers in education (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.