The views of educational practitioners in Ghana on ICT use and instructional design practice for promoting quality education

Abstract

Many ICT boosters are of the view that ICT on its own can promote quality teaching and learning. In line with this metaphor, the need to provide computers in the classrooms often takes precedence over training teachers to acquire skills in instructional design. However, it is evident in the instructional technology literature that good design of the learning task by the teacher is the fundamental requirement for quality teaching. This study was intended to explore the views of 90 educational practitioners (students, teachers and policy makers) in Ghana on the use of ICT and good design of instruction by the teacher for quality teaching and learning. Five Point Likert-type scales were used for the data collection. The results of the study indicate that in Ghana students are not very certain as to whether ICT or teachers can facilitate the implementation of the first five principles of instruction for quality teaching and learning. Moreover, a great number of teachers and policy makers are of the view that teachers can facilitate the implementation of the first five principles of instruction better than an ICT. However, it was recommended by the students, teachers and policy makers that both teachers and students should be trained to use ICT to facilitate teaching and learning. � 2007 IEEE.