A tracer study on challenges affecting the use of ICT in pre-tertiary school administration in Ghana: Administrators’ perspective

Abstract

There is a national consultation on how ICTs influences Ghana’s school administration and curriculum instruction. For this vision to be actualized, the researcher envisaged that a tracer study on the challenges affecting the use of ICTs in pre-tertiary school administration would provide first-hand information to policymakers. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and employed the census survey to include 60 public Senior High School administrators in the Birim Central Municipality. The data collection instrument was a close-ended questionnaire with an obtained Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α) of 0.84. The study revealed that pre-tertiary school administrators were satisfied with the accessibility to computers and other hardware equipment but were dissatisfied with the accessibility of software, photocopier, and internet accessibility for administrative works. Furthermore, the institutional barriers (inadequate facilities to support full integration of ICTs and non-inclusion of ICT programs in administrators’ training on curriculum delivery) were the obstacles affecting the use of technological resources in the administration and management of schools. Ghana Education Service accepts criticisms of identified challenges on ICT integration from school administrators to inform proper planning and prompt responses for the successful implementation of ICs in schools.

Keywords:

• Ghana ICT Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy
• Level of Satisfaction to Accessible ICTs
• Challenges Affecting the Use of ICTs

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

The call for an embedded technological resource in delivering quality education has become of concern for many curriculum experts. Irrespective of the philosophy of any curriculum, Heads of schools serve as the instructional leaders ensuring effective implementation of the curriculum. As instructional leaders, their leadership roles and their associated challenges determine the success or failure of ICT resource usage. Based on this analogy, a tracer study was conducted to ascertain the challenges affecting the use of ICTs in pre-tertiary school administration. The findings indicated that pre-tertiary school administrators were satisfied with the accessibility to computers and other hardware equipment but were dissatisfied with the accessibility of software, photocopier, and the internet for administrative works. Furthermore, the findings revealed the existence of individualistic and institutional barriers to technological resources usage. The Ghana Education Service must undertake effective monitoring and evaluation of technological usage by final implementers of the curriculum to get feedback on different policy formulations to ease the usage of ICT resources.

1. Introduction

The role of national policies (macro-level) on ICT integration in education has led to the implementation of the Ghana ICT Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy in 2003 (Ministry of Education (MOE), 2008). ICT resources facilitate educational services at all the educational systems. Specifically, the Government of Ghana distributed laptop computers to pre-tertiary institutions in 2012, 2013, and 2021 to facilitate ICT integration in education (Ghana News Agency, 2014, 2021). Again, through the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Government of Ghana introduced the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). Since 2005, the CSPSS has continuously selected and placed qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) graduates into Senior High Schools (SHS) of their choice. This computerized admission system has replaced the manual cumbersome admission processes Where Senior High School (SHS) heads go through to select qualified candidates to pursue secondary education. Through this ICT intervention (CSSPS), there has been facilitation on the admission processes that school heads only require the list of admitted students. .

Additionally, e -registration system by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is to facilitate registration timetables. It results from verification by administrators and students for external examinations (WAEC, 2010). These initiatives were born out of the ICT in Education Policy to equip the schools with the requirements for full ICT integration to create new possibilities for learners and teachers to engage in new ways of information acquisition and analysis (Ministry of Education (MOE), 2008).

In this admiration, classroom level (micro-level) numerous research studies from 2010 on teacher’s ICT competencies, usage, experience, perception, and challenges (Sipila, 2011; Amenyedzi et al., 2011; Singh & Muniandi, 2012; Adebi-Caesar, 2012; Ayebi-Arthur; Amenyedzi et al., 2011; Sey, 2013; Yalley, 2017, Afutor, 2020; Soh, 2020) have established teachers’ adaptation of ICT in the course of teaching and learning. On the other hand, the local school policies (Meso level) require intensive research to investigate the effects of varied factors, measured on different levels, reported by different actors on the dependent ICT integration variable. This assertion is made by the researcher because the seven thematic areas: Education Management; Capacity Building; Infrastructure, E-readiness, and Equitable Access; Incorporating ICTs into the Curriculum; Content Development; Technical Support, Maintenance and Sustainability; and Monitoring and Evaluation) outline the requisite guiding principles, objectives, and strategies of the ICT in Education Policy by the Ministry of Education (MOE; 2008) to mitigate the setbacks, challenges, and hindrances. In the view of Dawson and Rakes (2003) and Albion and Otto (2002), the skewness of ICT integration in education is due to school enhancement-associated problems. Education Management, E-readiness, equitable access, capacity building, and incorporation of ICTs into the curriculum are paramount in addressing the hindrance of ICT usage by school administrators.

A cursory examination of the importance of school leadership in managing ICT integration is central in creating conditions and a receptive environment for developing a shared ICT policy. Studies by Anderson & Dexter, 2005), Dawson and Rakes (2003), and Lumumba et al. (2021) support that leadership promotes change when merging ICT and instruction. Baylor and Ritchie (2002) also describe leadership as an essential predictor of ICT integration, since it focuses on promoting the use of ICT at a strategic and action level “school principals who wish to nurture a technology culture need to join in rather than sitting by the side” (p. 412). The question that needs answers is, “what makes some school administrators sit on the fence, unconcerned, or act as spectators about the integration of ICT in schools”? The research questions of this study will address the answer to this rhetoric.

On a blink to the purpose of this study, a study conducted by Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) in 2009 and cited in Rodden (2010) confirmed that several barriers or challenges inhibit the use of ICT in education. These barriers included a varying number of computers to students, and educators, a deficit in maintenance and technical assistance, and finally, a lack of computer skills and knowledge among educators (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2009f). Again, Edefiogho (2005) classified barriers to entirely technological integration as limited equipment, inadequate skills, minimal support, time constraints, and lack of interest or knowledge by teachers and, most importantly, administrators. In a research report conducted by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency [BECTA], 2004, several other essential barriers identified were: lack of confidence, accessibility, lack of time, fear of change, poor appreciation of the benefits of ICT and age. In the sub-Saharan countries, UNESCO (2010) states that there is a rapid growth in tertiary institutions. However, they challenge inadequate favorable conditions (human, financial, physical) to promote ICT integration in teaching and learning. According to Bosu (2015), this statement is because public expenditure per tertiary student relative to gross domestic product (GDP) is exceptionally high.

Within the Ghanaian context, according to Bon (2010), the main challenges faced by institutions are a lack of strategic vision, a shortage of ICT support staff and tight maintenance budgets; poor ICT staff retention; and limited collaboration among peer institutions. Again, Amenyedzi et al. (2011) surveyed the use of computers and the internet as supplementary sources of educational material in senior high schools in Tema Metropolis. Heads of school’s response to computers for educational management showed that some administrators still believed that the use of ICT is limited to the classroom. From the study, heads of two selected schools contended that computers in education are only relevant to teaching ICT courses. Because of this perception, monitoring students’ performance by the heads of schools was undertaken mainly through written assessment cards.

Drawing from the above challenges, Robertson et al. (1996) itemized teachers’ and administrators’ resistance to computer use as:

1. resistance to organizational change;

2. resistance to outside intervention;

3. time management problems;

4. lack of support from the administration;

5. teachers’/administrators’ perceptions;

The researcher concurs with Brockmeier et al.’s (2005) conclusion that achieving the promise of computer technology requires school administrators with vision and expertise. It is also highlighted in various studies (Albirini, 2006; Al-Zaidiyeen et al., 2010; Dogan, 2010; Hermans et al., 2008) that school administrators need to achieve a threshold level of computer expertise. The level of computer expertise will enable them to accomplish a task and integrate computers successfully in the teaching and learning of subjects in schools. The importance of this claim resides in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN; 2008) assertation that administration is very germane to the realization of the school’s objectives and that the school system’s success depends mainly on how the administration of the school.

Heads of school function as role models when computer technology is applied to administration and managerial tasks. As instructional leaders, they facilitate the integration of computers and online learning opportunities during teaching and learning (Dawson, 2008; Singh & Muniandi, 2012). Transformational leaders encourage creativity, open-mindedness and facilitate conditions and events that create a positive environment for technology adoption. Mwalongo (2011) found that administrators use ICT applications to prepare school announcements, reports, letters for meeting with parents, student registration, and teachers and staff employment which the researcher agrees. Webb (2011) noted that instructional leaders, directly and indirectly, determine the success or failure of teacher competencies in instructional technology. By implication, heads are instrumental in integrating technology into the school curriculum.

Despite the emphasis placed on educational administration by ICT policy, there is a gap in challenges that impede the continuous use of ICTs in the pre-tertiary school administration and management. In light of this, the study’s primary purpose was to investigate the challenges affecting the use of ICTs for school administration in the Birim Central Municipality.

2. Research questions

1. What is the level of satisfaction to accessible ICTs for school administration in the Birim Central Municipality?

2. What are the challenges affecting the use of ICTs for school administration in the Birim Central Municipality?

3. Significance of the study

The study’s findings will assist the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Education Service (GES), and pre-tertiary school administrators and teachers to implement policies to overcome the barriers and support educators, teachers, and students in becoming successful technology adopters within the educational sector. A challenge retards the progress or achievement of any set objective. To this end, investigating these challenges will lead to removing one or more of these barriers to assist and perhaps significantly advance the process of ICT integration in schools by administrators. Furthermore, these hindrances interrupting the integration of ICT resources in education are known. Administrators will support schools to make massive use of technological resources in school operations, which will transcend into acceptance, monitoring, and supervision of technological integration in subject curriculum implementation teachers.

4. Literature review

The focus of the literature is empirical studies on the challenges faced by administrators in using ICT in Ghanaian pre-tertiary schools.

5. Challenges faced by administrators in using ICT in Ghanaian schools

Despite these massive benefits ICT presents to its users, many school educators, and administrators, mainly in Africa, particularly Ghana, are still disadvantaged to a large extent (Makewa et al., 2013) and seemingly isolated within the Global Village. Gray and Smith (2007) observed that the twenty-first-century principal administrator faces numerous challenges emanating from the technology. A significant drawback to using ICT in Ghanaian schools is that computers are expensive, and acquiring hardware and software is high. Pelgrum (2001) stated that ICT would be the single most significant curriculum budget cost in most schools. This statement is true because, for close to ten years after introducing ICT courses in the curriculum, many schools in Ghana are incapable of purchasing computers or maintaining technologies for ICT lessons (Sey, 2013). The costive nature of technological resources and the limited budget allocation make it difficult for administrators to purchase specific ICTs.

Bosu (2015) reviewed the relationship among ICT, curriculum content, and pedagogy while considering implications for tertiary education administration, policy and practice. She mentioned that tertiary institutions face challenges with ICT integration are the high cost of equipment, maintenance, and replacement. Again, she reveals that most tertiary institutions do not have feasible replacement plans, particularly Ghana. In her words, she stated that;

“A computer has an average life span of 3 to 5 years. Institutions cannot obtain new computers once the initial ones are acquired—most of the first computers are from donations or projects funded by international organizations. Funds for internet, adequate broadband are inefficient; this limits access to varied IT programs that modify pedagogy”. (p. 64)

Bosu adds that, although ICT training is increasing, institutions do not have adequate technical and managerial support staff to promote the effective use of ICT. This statement is true because the Association of African Universities [Association of African Universities (2014) had made the same observations in most African Universities. According to the Association of African Universities (2014), the low utilization of ICT in Africa is attributable, partly to the high cost of bandwidth, inadequate expertise in ICT, and the related costs of soft and hardware. The issue of the inability to obtain appropriate software licenses is raised. The cost of software is high due to the exchange rate, which draws administrators away from buying original products to the use of cracked versions, preventing users from accessing the product services. In addition, internet bandwidth is highly costively, unstable, and mostly inaccessible to users. The persistent creates discomfort, stress, and waste of resources making users of technological resources have a change of minds for the manual alternatives. At the pre-tertiary level, Adebi-Caesar (2012) assessed the ICT situation in four (4) senior high schools in the Manya Krobo district of Ghana. He realized that most of the computers in the various school laboratories for ICT lessons were old-fashioned and could not support new applications and software. Some of the computers had broken down, and for lack of funds, the computers were not repaired and maintained. Other schools, however, have had no choice but to beseech donor agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for funding, and computers.

Also, the non-inclusion of ICT programs in teachers’ training curriculum seems to be another significant challenge facing the adoption of ICT in Ghana; educators seem to have a negative attitude towards ICT use. Adebi-Caesar (2012) noted that 90.7% of teacher respondents did not receive any training in using ICTs for teaching during their training to become professional teachers. Eventually, these teachers rise through the ranks to the position of school heads without adequate knowledge in ICT use. Another challenge likely inhibiting full adoption of ICT use in Ghanaian schools is the sporadic power cut. Like many African countries, Ghana suffers from the rationing of electricity power. ICTs are electronic devices that require a constant supply of electricity. Computers might get damaged in a power cut-off guard, and users may lose relevant data. School administrators and teachers interested in using ICTs will have no option but to resort to the traditional way of doing things. Sey (2013) affirms that although some schools in the Ga South Municipality had access to computers, none had access to the internet. Again, all the schools had access to electricity.

School administrators, however, complained of intermittent power supply as a challenge hindering student and teacher’s ability to make efficient use of available computers, adding that some computers had malfunctioned due to frequent power failures. In Coklar’s (2012) view, school administrators face various challenges, including bureaucracy, lack of resources, resistance to innovation, lack of in-service training, and poverty. To successfully use technological resources in education, available space, adequate resources, development of a culture of maintenance, and sufficient training for users to become competent must be provided. However, the opposite is stated in the study of Albugami and Ahmed (2015). To buttress the findings of Albugami and Ahmed (2015), Snoussi (2019) posited that lack of students’ self-discipline in online systems, the inconsistency of learning management systems with some academic programs, limited use of Arabic language. Again, technical literacy was the fundamental challenge universities face in using learning management systems. From students, faculty members, IT experts, and policymakers’ perception of the challenges to ICT usage, Almaiah et al. (2020) indicated that the lack of financial support, change management issues, and technical issues associated with learning management systems were the key challenges faced by Saudi Arabian and Jordanian institutes. The key barriers to integrating ICT in education were the unequal distribution of ICT infrastructure, quality of education, digital divide, lack of well-defined policies and standards, and technology cost (Dhawan, 2020).

Irrespective of the drives, initiatives, and policies of stakeholders in the educational field, UNDP (2010) contends that these challenges rest on the lack of critical drive and strategies to harness the full potential of ICT in education for socio-economic development of the country. The ICT for Accelerated Development [ICT4AD] resulted in ICT education policy in Ghana to furnish out how ICT resources can be fully integrated in education.

6. Materials and methods

The study adopted a descriptive survey design to enable the researcher to investigate the challenges pre-tertiary administrators face in integrating ICT resources in school operations (Creswell, 2008). All the Public Senior High School (PSHS) administrators in the five (5) PSHS in the Birim Central Municipality served as the study’s target population. The total number of administrators obtained from the Birim Central Educational Office was sixty (60). This comprised schools’ heads, assistant heads, school administrators, secretaries, accountants, heads of departments, and ICT experts. The census survey used included all the 60 PSHS administrators. The data collection instrument was a close-ended questionnaire expert opinions from colleague researchers and postgraduate students pursuing a Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction and Ph.D. Educational Leadership at the University of Cape Coast was used to establish the face and content validity of the instrument.

Furthermore, pilot testing was conducted in two (2) PSHS in the Birim South District to establish the reliability of the questionnaire. The researchers administered the questionnaires to 15 administrators in the two PSHS. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients’ calculated reliability was 0.78 and 0.81 for research questions 1 and 2, respectively. On the whole, the alpha (α) value of 0.84 obtained proved the reliability to which, according to De Vellis (2003), Kline (2005), and Cohen et al. (2005) considered highly reliable to prove answers to the stated research questions of the study. The researcher administered the questionnaires to the respondents and guaranteed them anonymity and confidentiality of the information provided. The entire data collection exercise took two weeks. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and means of means) were used to analyze Research question 1, while descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and means of means) were used to analyze research question 2.

7. Results and discussions

Research Question 1 sought to determine the level of satisfaction with the accessibility of ICTs for school administration in the Birim Central Municipality. In determining whether respondents were content with the ICTs, the means of the ICT equipment were obtained. With a standard mean (M = 3.00), means below the standard; mean (M < 3.00) implies dissatisfaction with ICTs while means above the standard mean (M ≥ 3.00) implies that administrators are satisfied with the ICTs accessibility. The findings are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Level of satisfaction with accessible ICTs by administrators in the birim central municipality

Level of Satisfaction	Mean	Std. Dev	Decision Rule
Computer	3.56	1.50	Satisfied
Software	2.62	1.24	Not Satisfied
other hardware(printer/scanner)	3.13	1.47	Satisfied
Photocopier	2.00	1.47	Not Satisfied
Internet access	2.56	1.52	Not Satisfied
Mean of means/Std. Dev.	2.77	1.38	Not Satisfied
Key: Mean 1.00–2.99 = Not satisfiedMean 3.00–5:00 = -Satisfied

Source: (Field Data, 2017)

From Table 1, mean scores (M = 3.56; SD = 1.50) and (M = 3.13; SD = 1.47)) showed that pre-tertiary administrators were satisfied with the computers and printer/scanner accessibility, respectively. The findings turn to confirm that the new report that the distributed laptop and computers to pre-tertiary institutions in 2012; 2013, and in 2021 as a measure to facilitate the integration of ICT in education have been received in good faith and are accessible for usage by both the teaching and non-teaching staff of schools (Ghana News Agency, 2014, 2021). On the other hand, the respondents were not satisfied with the software (M = 2.62; SD = 1.24). Also, mean scores (M = 2.00; SD = 1.47) and (M = 2.56; SD = 1.52) also expressed the school administrators’ dissatisfaction with the photocopies and internet facility for their administrative functions and work. The overall mean of means scores (MM = 2.77, SD = 1.38) indicates that administrators are generally not satisfied with the accessibility of ICT resources in the school. The standard deviation (SD = 1.38) obtained also implies that the responses on the level of satisfaction varied widely among the administrators.

Although ICTs were available in the schools, some ICTs prevented some administrators from immediate access resulting in their high level of dissatisfaction with ICT equipment. These findings portray that irrespective of the deployment of ICT resources for educational purposes as a result of the Ghana ICT Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy, school administrators have some dissatisfaction with the accessibility of ICTs. Again, as Webb (2011) posits that instructional leaders, directly and indirectly, determine the success or failure of teacher competencies in instructional technology, their dissatisfaction with ICTs accessibility implies that the integration of technological resources into the school curriculum will pose a challenge. This challenge causes the lack of commitment and confidence in allowing other staff members to use these technological resources within the administration of the school. Furthermore, the inferences made corroborate the findings of Mwalongo’s (2011) findings, where ICT applications are used to prepare school announcements, reports, letters for meeting with parents, and student registration. Furthermore, teachers and staff are satisfied that these senior high school administrators used these ICT resources within the Birim Central Municipality. Administrators’ dissatisfaction can be traced to the numerous hindrances and hurdles they have to overcome before accessing ICT resources.

Research question 2 aims to investigate the challenges affecting the use of ICTs in school administration in the Birim Central Municipality. The challenges were categorized into two (personal and institutional perspectives). Administrators were asked to indicate the extent to which they disagreed with the statements. The mean ranking used:

i. 1.00 − 1.50 = Strongly Agree;

ii. 1.51–2.50 = Agree;

iii. 2.51–3.50 = Disagree;

iv. 3.51–4.00 = Strongly Disagree.

Therefore, a mean of 2.50 and above indicates a disagreement with the statement. In contrast, a mean of 2.49 and below indicates an agreement to the statements that challenge ICT usage in school administration and management. The result of this research question is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Challenges affecting administrators’ use of ICT

Challenges	SA ± A	D± SD
Individual Perspective	№ (%)	№ (%)	M	SD.	Decision
I don’t have time to be using ICTs (computers)	10(18.2)	45(81.8)	3.16	.76	Disagreement
I lack sufficient knowledge in using ICTs	46(83.6)	9(16.4)	3.11	.90	Disagreement
I lack confidence in using ICTs	6 (10.9)	49(89.1)	3.35	.67	Disagreement
I am too old for ICTs(computers)	3 (5.5)	52(94.5)	3.51	.66	Disagreement
I have little previous experience with ICTs	14(25.5)	41(74.5)	2.9	.81	Disagreement
I am not sure how valuable ICTs are to my work	2 (3.6)	53(96.4)	3.45	.57	Disagreement
I am expected to use my ICT resources to do school work	32(58.2)	23(41.8)	2.78	.95	Disagreement
Institutional Perspective
ICTs in my school are not readily accessible.	19(34.5)	36(65.5)	2.75	.99	Disagreement
ICT equipment in my school are not reliable	15(27.3)	40(72.)	2.80	.87	Disagreement
My school lacks computer literate administrators	5(9.1)	50(90.9)	3.27	.78	Disagreement
There is no support if something goes wrong with ICT	14(25.5)	41(74.5)	2.93	.86	Disagreement
Irregular power supply hinders the use of ICTs in my School	42(76.4)	13(23.6)	1.95	.83	Agreement
The cost of purchasing ICTs for the school is high	40(72.7)	15(27.3)	2.89	.90	Disagreement
There are inadequate facilities to support the full integration of ICT	41(74.5)	14(25.5)	2.09	.85	Agreement
The non-inclusion of ICT programs in administrator’s training curriculum affects its adoption in schools’ administration.	43(78.2)	12(21.8)	2.05	.81	Agreement
Other administrators are very reluctant to adapt to the use of ICT for effective school administration	30(54.5)	25(45.5)	2.35	.91	Agreement
Lack of funds hinders my school from fully embracing ICT for school administration	38(69.1)	17(30.9)	2.09	.91	Agreement
There is a fear of exposing too much information on the institution to the public.	18(32.7)	37(67.3)	2.76	.94	Disagreement
The school lacks a clear policy to guide administrators’ use of ICT	33(60.0)	22(40.0)	2.33	.86	Agreement
Inappropriate on-the-job ICT training for administrators	32(58.2)	23(41.8)	2.24	.88	Agreement
Mean of means/ Std. Dev.			2.95	0.84	Disagreement

Source: (Field Data, 2021)()

It is observed from the results in Table 2 that most of the respondents disagreed with the statements on the individual factors impeding the use of ICT in the school, whiles the majority agreed to the challenging institutional factors preventing the use of ICT for school administration. With the highest mean score of (M = 3.51, SD = 0.66) with 52 (94.5%), administrators strongly disagreed with the statement “I am too old to for ICTs .”Although the researcher observed that the administrators were of different age groups, they felt that they could learn ICTs regardless of their ages. All other means for the remaining statements in Table 2 falls within the 2.51–3.50 range. With standard deviations, less than 1.0 meant that administrators disagreed closely with all other factors impeding ICT usage. Surprisingly, 46 (83.6%) of the respondents strongly agreed that they lack sufficient knowledge in using ICTs, but the mean score (M = 3.11; SD = .90) indicates disagreement with this statement. In Table 2, administrators do not have adequate knowledge and confidence to use ICT and perceive themselves as not competent in using ICT. Although administrators claim to have some experience with ICT, a quarter of them have had little experience with ICT.

From the institutional perspective, it is evident from Table 2 indicates ICTs in the schools in the Birim Central Municipality are readily accessible and reliable (M = 2.75; SD = 0.99) and (M = 2.80; SD = .87) meanwhile (M = 2.09; SD = .85) revealed that there are inadequate ICT facilities to support its full integration. The implication is that access to reliable ICTs in schools is not a challenge. However, the challenge rested in the inadequacy of ICTs for full integration into school administration. Again, schools have computer literate administrators (M = 3.27; SD = .78), but apparently, many of the school administrators’ competency levels were low in ICT use. The reluctancy on the path of school administrators to adapt to the use of ICT for effective school administration (M = 2.35; SD = .91) proved that the hesitant attitudes of administrators to use ICT in their work was more problematic than the competence or incompetence of administrators in the use of ICT. Robertson et al. (1996) explain that teachers’ and administrators’ resistance to computer use is due to administrators’ perceptions of personal and psychological factors.

However, it is realized that respondents disagreed with the statement “there is no support if something goes wrong with ICT” (M = 2.93; SD = .86) but agreed (M = 2.24; SD = .88) that there exists inappropriate on-the-job ICT training for administrators. This finding partially agrees with Bosu’s (2015) claim that although ICT training is increasing, institutions in Sub-Sahara do not have adequate technical and managerial support staff to promote the effective use of ICT in schools. The findings on lack of funds hinder the school from fully embracing ICT for school administration (M = 2.09; SD = 0.91) corroborates Adebi-Caesar’s (2012) finding in Manya Krobo that most of the computers in the various schools had broken down and for the lack of funds, the computers were not repaired and maintained. Again, 33 (60%) of the school administrators agreed that there is no clear policy to guide their use of ICT for school work (M = 2.33; SD = .88). UNDP (2010) discovered in a similar study that one of the challenges of ICT use rests on the lack of critical drive and strategies to harness the full potential of ICT in education for the socio-economic development of the country. This validate the findings of Coklar (2012) that school administrators face various challenges, including bureaucracy, lack of resources, resistance to innovation, lack of in-service training, and poverty are the barriers effecting ICT usage. The finding corroborates Almaiah et al. (2020), Dhawan (2020), and Snoussi (2019) findings that key barriers to integrating ICT in education were the unequal distribution of ICT infrastructure, quality of education, digital divide, lack of well-defined policies and standards, technology cost, lack of financial support, change management issues, and technical issues associated with learning management systems.. It appears that due to this challenge, lesser strides have been taken in the use of ICT resources in school administration within the secondary schools Birim Central Municipality.

In sum, the significant challenges hindering school administrators in Birim Central municipality from full ICT integration are the capacity and attitudes of administrators, physical resources in the school, and policies and structures that support the use. These conditions could significantly affect school administrators’ ICTs accessibility and usage. The school administrators are constrained with ICTs accessibility and usage by the institutional challenges. . The institutional barriers to ICT usage by school administrators in the Brim Central Municipality contradict the findings Kamilah and Anugerhwati (2019). Kamilah and Anugerhwati (2019) posit that the challenges to ICT usage are in three category: extreme, moderate and zero resistance. In finding a common grounds, that findings of this study and that of Kamilah and Anugerhwati (2019) establishes that there are internal and external challenges. Likewise, administrators’ factors could play an essential role in using ICTs. However, school administrators’ factors are minimal; hence, school factors outweighed the administrator factors in explaining the administrative’ use and full integration of ICT. These institutional hurdles that administrators need to jump to use technological resources in school administration. The current challenges facing pre-tertiary administrators’ usage of ICTs in the Birim Central Municipality are not personal and individualistic but are institutional bound.

8. Conclusion

The following conclusions are made based on the findings of the study:

1. Pre-tertiary school administrators in the Birim Central Municipality were satisfied with the accessibility to computers and other hardware equipment such as printers and scanners. They indicated their dissatisfaction with the accessibility of software, photocopier and internet access for administrative words and functions within the schools.

2. On the challenges hindering the administrators’ use of ICT resources, the personal perspective category showed that pre-tertiary administrators do not have time to use it do not have sufficient knowledge and confidence. Furthermore, debunk the idea that they do not know the usefulness of ICT resources to their work. By implication, on personal grounds, these statements were not challenges affecting the administrator’s use. From the institutional perspective, irregular power supply hinders the use of ICTs, inadequate facilities to support full integration of ICTs, non-inclusion of ICT programs in the administrators’ training curriculum, reluctance to adapt to the use of ICT for effective school administration as well as lack of clear policy to guide administrators use of ICTs, and inadequate on the job training for administrators were the obstacles affecting the use of technological resources in the administration and management of schools. Institutional challenges outweighed individualistic barriers of senior high school administrators’ challenges of effectively using technological resources in school administration and management.

9. Recommendations for practice to curb the foreseen challenges

Based on the stated conclusions, there is a need for periodic workshops and in-service training for pre-tertiary administrators on ICT use for school administration. In addition, effective monitoring and evaluation exercises must be conducted on ICT in Education policies to identify signs of progress and weaknesses in implementing the policy. Policymakers, the Ghana Education Service, and the Ministry of Education will get recent feedback into further policy formulation to ease the implementation bureaucracy and institutional challenges. Furthermore, the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education should accept criticisms and complaints from school administrators on ICT integration in education policies. This act will inform proper planning and prompt responses to identified challenges to better position the successful implementation of ICT resources in schools.

10. Limitations and suggestions for further studies

At the time of the data collection exercise, the post-COVID −19 pandemic restrictions on person-to-person contact reduced retrieval of the questionnaire administered to the respondents. Fifty-five (55) out of the sixty (60) questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed. Consequently, the return rate of the questionnaire was 92%. Given Dillman (2000), a return rate of 70% is classified as good and acceptable to carry on with the study.

Acknowledgements

The researcher will like to express his most profound appreciation to Dr. Mohammed Adam (Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Studies Education, University of Education-Ghana) for his continuous mentorship and encouragement. Again, his indebtedness goes to Prof. Ryan Brown (Professor and Associate Director of Graduate Programs at the School of Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University) for his tutorship in “Introduction to Doctoral Scholarship” that made me appreciate the dynamism in article publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Clarke Ebow Yalley

Clarke Ebow Yalley holds a Bachelor of Education Degree (Social Studies), Master of Philosophy Degree in Curriculum and Instruction (Social Studies), currently pursuing PhD. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cape Coast and a Doctor of Education Teaching and Learning at the Illinois State University. Clarke has been a part-time lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Sunyani; Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast, and College for Distance and e-Learning, University of Education, Winneba for 4 years. He is currently an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Social Studies Education, University of Education, Winneba. Clarke has published more articles in his area of interest encompassing Curriculum Design, Implementation and Evaluation; Theories and Enquiry in Curriculum Development; Effective Teaching and Learning of Social Studies; Instructional Technologies; and Instructional Pedagogies in Social Studies. This present study aims to influence effective teaching and learning in the educational sector through the use of educational technologies and research.