THE INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) INTO PRIMARY SCHOOLS CURRICULUM

This study is a critical overview of the efforts of the Nigerian government at integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into education. It also assessed the availability of these facilities and infrastructure as stated in the strategic ICT objectives. The study in addition investigated whether the sample used have the skills needed for ICT utilization and factors/challenges that affects the diffusion of ICT in education. This is with the ultimate view of providing empirical information on the extent of achieving the vision and objectives of the National policy for ICT in Nigeria. The study employed exploratory research design. Three hundred participants constituted the sample for this study. The sample was selected from ten schools using simple random sampling technique. While the schools were selected using stratified sampling technique, based on the Local Education Authority Area, school type and location. The research instrument is made up of a self-designed questionnaire on five point Likert Scale. They were derived from relevant literature and the research objectives and were validated by exerts from the Departments of Educational Technology, Educational Foundations and Counseling and ICT teachers in public schools in Ife for content validity. The reliability of the instrument was also determined using Pearson Moment Correlation. A correlation of 0.87 was found. The data was analyzed using One way analysis of Variance (ANOVA) .The findings showed that ICT facilities are not universally available. It was also found that 10 years after the enactment of the Nigerian National ICT Policy, internet services are yet to be fully made available in all the government Institutions in Nigeria