The Influence of Project Management Activities on ICT Adoption among Secondary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Researchers have delved in the study on ICT (Information Communication and Technology) adoption in schools worldwide. Literatures based on social approaches specify that successful ICT adoption by teachers is reliant on dynamics such as attitude, resource provision, skills among others. This paper focuses on the Project management activities associated with the ICT adoption into instructional methods by Secondary school teachers in Thika, Kiambu County of Kenya, namely Teacher Motivation and Teacher Monitoring. The theoretical framework used was the Unified theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model for ICT, The Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model for Evaluation of educational project and Joint Application Model (JAD) for Project management. The respondent for the survey based study were teachers from the schools that benefited from the Economic Stimulus Program - Information Communication and Technology (ESP-ICT) project. Data for the research was carried out through administration of questionnaires to the teacher respondents. Findings discovered that the project had been unsuccessful in Teacher recognition; distribution of assignment for responsibility purposes and rewarding as Motivational tools. Further, no monitoring upgrades or indicators gave an assurance that the teachers had apprehended the initial laid down targets, consequently knowledge and communication was infrequent. The conclusion deduced from these findings was that ICT adoption by teachers was flawed and meticulous act out of the routine had to be taken in order to curtail some of the many challenges to its triumph. The paper therefore recommended the enrolment of a project manager, who would effectively drive the project through all the stages by engaging project management dimension that is characterized by planning, implementation, monitoring and organization. All these events guide to success in project attainment.