ICT Infrastructure and Implementation of Digital Literacy Programme in Public Primary Schools in Isiolo County, Kenya.

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the influence of school factors on the implementation of digital literacy programme in public primary schools in Isiolo County. The following objective guided the study: To examine how ICT Infrastructure influences the implementation of the digital literacy programme. The study was anchored on Innovation Diffusion Theory (2003), employed a descriptive survey research design, and targeted 89 respondents from 22 public primary schools with digital literacy programs. The study's sample size was 22 Headteachers,45 lower primary teachers, and the Sub-county director of education, translating to 68 respondents. The primary data was collected using questionnaires, and a statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 22 observation checklist was used to run descriptive and inferential statistics. The study's findings revealed that; the overall DLP implementation level was just average at 42.4%; relationship of ICT Infrastructure was found to be statistically significant with DLP Implementation positively, with a correlation coefficient index of 0.334. Most of the teachers in this study reported that the digital literacy programme was not active, with only 8.9 % agreeing that their schools were very active in DLP. In comparison, 42.2% agreed that DLP was somewhat active, signifying the low levels of DLP Implementation. The study calls for a combined effort from all stakeholders in education to address the challenges affecting digital literacy programme implementation levels in its early stages after a successful rollout. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education ministry build a functional ICT infrastructure with a well-equipped computer laboratory and employ ICT teachers or technicians in every school to fix technical issues on digital tablets.