International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064

Barriers to Effective Integration of Information and

Communication Technology in Harare Secondary
Schools
Vimbai Edina Ndawi1, Kennedy Andrew Thomas2, Tendayi Leonorah Nyaruwata3
1
Christ University, Centre for Research, Bangalore, Hosur Road, Banaglore-560029, India
2
Christ University, Total Quality Management System (TQMS), Hosur Road, Banaglore-560029, India
3
Zimbabwe Open University, Higher Degrees Directorate, 9 George Silundika Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract: This study explored the main barriers to effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in
Harare Secondary School Education. Data were collected using close ended questionnaires. Participatory research was also carried out
to familiarize with the changes happening in secondary schools with respect to integration of ICT in education and to find out the
challenges being faced. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results showed that although
teachers are aware of the benefits of using ICTs in education there was still limited use of this pedagogy in classrooms as teachers were
facing a number of challenges which acted as barriers to the successful implementation of ICT in education. These include lack of a
clear sense of direction on how to use ICT to enhance the learning of students, inadequate resources and support as well as lack of the
required technological skills among the teachers. The study recommends that effective planning to counter these barriers before
implementation would greatly increase the effectiveness of ICT integration in secondary schools.

Keywords: Barrier, Information Communication Technology, Teachers, Secondary Schools.

1. Introduction complexity of these challenges there have been some critics

to the use of technology in education.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
integration in education is the use of technology tools in ICT integration in education also faces more challenges in
teaching and learning general content subjects. The developing countries where economic hardships exacerbate
integration of technology in education originated from a resource shortages. This paper explores the main barriers to
constructivist philosophy of education where learners effective integration of ICT in secondary schools in Harare,
actively construct their own knowledge. Research over the Zimbabwe.
years has generally supported that integrating technology in
education has many benefits for both teachers and their 2. Importance of the Research
students. These include motivating students to learn,
allowing for greater differentiation among students, As a new pedagogy ICT integration in education has a lot of
promoting both independent work and team work and potential to enhance learning. It offers variety to the students
increasing the teacher’s efficiency in lesson preparation and and therefore can keep them motivated to learn. As with any
content delivery. new reform in education, ICT integration faces a number of
challenges. If these are not adequately addressed they act as
However, research has also found that there are many barriers to the effective implementation of this reform. If it is
challenges associated with integrating technology in not implemented successfully it discourages those who
education. These include establishing infrastructure, initially had the enthusiasm to take part in adopting ICT.
developing the required skills to make use of information Hollow (2011) [3] argues that, “A new technology is
and communication technology in education and ensuring introduced into a school accompanied by a lot of energy and
maximum use of the technology in order to reap the desired enthusiasm, but over time it doesn’t get utilized in the way
results. Searson, Laferrie and Nikolow (2011) [1] sited the participants anticipated.” Balanskat, Blamire, and Kefala
resistance to change, lack of a clear implementation (2006) [8], also argue that the impact of ICT highly
roadmap, absence of enabling infrastructure and depended on how it is used. They also posed that, the impact
environment, irrelevance of the curriculum and inadequate of a specific ICT application or device depends on the
teacher preparation as some of the barriers to successful capacity of the teacher to exploit it efficiently for
implementation of ICT integration in education. Miima et al pedagogical purposes. For teachers to integrate ICT into
(2013) [2] also stated a number of challenges that hindered their teaching effectively, they must have the basic skills
integration of ICT in teaching in Kenya and these include: needed to operate computers and other related ICTs and
lack of time, lack of confidence, lack of competence/limited schools must have the necessary infrastructure.
knowledge on how to make full use, resistance to
change/lack of interest, lack of computer facilities and
related software and lack of technical support. Due to the

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3. Research Objectives ICTs that had been integrated were printers, overhead
projectors, television/video, radio cassette recorders, and to a
This study sought to find out the challenges being faced in less extent multimedia computer and slide projectors.
integrating ICT in Harare Secondary schools. It also Instructional software and electronic references did not
recommends solutions to these challenges in order to appear to be in use.
enhance the effectiveness of the reform.
Lau and Sim (2008) [7] carried out a survey on “Exploring
4. Literature review the extent of ICT adoption among Secondary school teachers
in Malaysia”. The results showed that the ICTs most
Heshmatpanah and Neyestanak (2011) [4], carried out a commonly used by teachers were word-processing,
study on “E-Learning Effects on Teaching at Alborz High PowerPoint and the World Wide Web. Video conferencing,
School (Iran)”. They found a number of challenges synchronous communications, use of databases or text
associated with integrating information and technology in reconstruction software had seldom been used. It also
education. Surfing on the internet required more time than appeared that respondents felt least competent in statistical
that allocated to a subject and students were eager to visit tools. It appeared as if these were technical areas that needed
other sites that were not related to their subjects. Students to be learned by teachers, and that current training courses
also failed to use the sites well because of poor proficiency had not addressed teachers’ training needs in this area. The
in the English language. A number of practical solutions to lack of technical support was perceived by teachers as the
these obstacles were proposed in the article. Proficiency in key barrier to the further uptake of ICT in schools.
computer skills for accessing sources, computer software for
designing a web page, the English language and the concept The teachers who had been using ICT extensively in their
of network were essential components of effective daily routines still indicated high training and support needs.
information and communication technology in education. Respondents also felt that among the various stakeholders,
teachers as the classroom practitioners should have a greater
Tuncay and Uzunboylu (2010) [5], in their research entitled say in deciding how ICT is used in schools.
“Walking in two worlds: From e-learning paradise to
technologically locked-in”, made an in-depth comparison of Balanskat, Blamire, and Kefala (2006) [8] reviewed studies
the impact of digital technologies on the educational of ICT impact on schools in Europe. The review drew on
experiences of students within two disparate schools. The evidence from 17 impact studies and surveys carried out at
results showed that the school from a developed country was national, European and international level. The study showed
systematic, disciplined and well equipped with smart boards, some of the factors that impede the successful
printers, speakers and even extra monitors on walls to make implementation of ICT in teaching. These included teachers’
computer usage easier. The lessons and assignments were poor ICT competence, low motivation and lack of
put on the LMS; exams were done on the LMS via intranet. confidence in using new technologies in teaching which
The teachers took students assignments as emails from proved to be significant determinants of their levels of
Blackboard. E-learning was integrated to all learning engagement in ICT integration. Some barriers to ICT
activities. Students were also confident in using e-learning integration in education existed at the school level. These
technology. included limited access to ICT (due to a lack or poor
organization of ICT resources), poor quality and inadequate
In the school from a developing country, there were only 3 maintenance of hardware as well as unsuitable educational
smart boards. Computers were limited and sometimes three software which were also defining elements in teachers’
students had to share the same computer. The teachers had levels of ICT use. Moreover, the absence of an ICT
never prepared a video conference before. 90% of the dimension in the overall schools’ strategies and their limited
teachers took students’ assignments as paper work and did experience with project-oriented activities supported by ICT,
not have online e-quizzes. Generally the school from a also affected the levels of ICT use by teachers.
developing country lacked e-learning technological devices,
a situation referred to in this paper as being technologically There were also system-level barriers to ICT integration in
locked-in. It was concluded that developing countries would education. In some countries it was the educational system
have a greater chance to deliver up-to-date courses if they and its rigid assessment structures that impeded the
had more technological opportunities. Widening e- integration of ICT into everyday learning activities. There
applications all over the world was encouraged to improve were also some factors beyond the teacher’s control which
the quality of education received by students.   influenced ICT integration in education, for example,
institutional cultures, leadership, the curriculum and
A Survey on ICT Usage and the Perceptions of Social assessment.
Studies Teachers in Turkey was done by (Gulbahar and
Guven, 2008) [6]. The results showed that teachers faced Albirini (2004) [9] carried out a study entitled “Teachers
problems in relation to accessibility to ICT resources and attitudes toward information and communication
lack of the basic skills of usage of computers and other technologies: the case of Syrian EFL teachers”. Many
technologies. Teachers’ perceptions of the compatibility of teachers did not think that computers fitted well in their
ICT with their current teaching practices were not as curricular goals. They also felt that the scheduled class time
positive. Teachers pointed out that the class time was too was too limited for computer use. There were also
limited for ICT usage. The study also showed that the main insufficient computers for teachers and most of the
respondents had little or no competence in handling most of
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 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064

the computer functions needed by educators. The Frequencies of never using some ICT resources ranged from
relationship between computer attitudes and competence 22%-61%.
suggested that higher computer competence may foster the
already positive attitudes of teachers and increase the use of There was still very limited use of ICT applications in the
computers within the classroom. lessons with a number of teachers never using ICT, most of
teachers only using ICT once a term, a number used it
In addition, many of the respondents stated that there were weekly and a very small percentage used it on a daily basis.
more important social issues to be addressed when This is illustrated by the following graph on students’
implementing computers in education. This implies that assignments that incorporate a learning experience involving
balancing resource allocation among the competing areas of the use of an ICT application:
need is a critical issue in developing countries. Most
respondents felt they needed computers that better suit the Table 1: Frequency of ICT Use by Teachers
Arabic culture and identity. This conclusion points to the
need for considering cultural factors in ICT integration. Daily Weekly Once per Never
Objective % % term % %
Achieving learning outcomes
5. Materials and Methods Mastering skills just taught 6.9 34.5 31.0 27.6
Remediation of skills 0.0 34.5 27.6 37.9
A quantitative survey was carried out in secondary schools Expressing yourself clearly 17.9 14.2 25.0 42.9
during the period 2012-2013. It was carried out in Harare Communicating with others 28.6 21.4 28.6 21.4
province in Zimbabwe. The results of the pilot study have Finding out information 33.3 46.7 16.7 3.3
been used in this paper. Analyzing information 13.8 48.3 24.1 13.8
Presenting information 13.3 23.3 33.4 30.0
The ICT Integration questionnaire consisted of 199 closed Improving computer skills 6.9 27.6 27.6 37.9
ended items distributed under seven subsections: School ICT Learning to work collaboratively 3.3 40.0 36.7 20.0
Capacity, Access to Professional Development, School Assessing students
Planning and Leadership, Applications of ICT in the Student assignments that incorporate ICT 3.3 23.3 46.7 26.7
Classroom, Assessing Student Outcomes using ICT, Digital artifacts, from student 3.3 10.0 46.7 40.0
Personal / Professional Use of ICT and ICT Knowledge and assignments
Skills. It was adopted from an instrument used to research Customizing assessment 6.9 17.2 20.7 55.2
SIS Curriculum Manager to monitor, 3.4 17.2 24.2 55.2
and evaluate ICT knowledge and skill levels of Western
evaluate and report on student
Australian government school teachers. The results gave achievement
useful insights on the challenges being faced in ICT Other ICT applications to monitor, 0.0 29.0 54.8 16.2
integration in Harare secondary schools. The results were evaluate and report on student
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists achievement
(SPSS). Professional use of ICT
Create materials for students use (e.g. 32.3 54.7 6.5 6.5
The research also included participatory research in order to handouts, tests)
establish Zimbabwean teachers’ current position with respect Access research and best practices for 22.6 48.4 22.5 6.5
to ICT integration in education and to practically experience teaching
the challenges faced in implementing this reform. Curriculum administration 23.3 46.7 23.3 6.7
Participatory research involved attending a national Communicate with student(s) and/or 9.6 19.4 35.5 35.5
headmasters’ conference on ICT in education and attending parent(s)
an “Intel getting Started Course” which is currently being Post information to a website for students 3.2 6.5 12.9 77.4
Online professional learning 3.3 16.7 26.7 53.3
offered to teachers in Zimbabwe to enhance their ability to
integrate ICT in education.
There were also barriers emanating from planning and
management of this reform. Many teachers felt that there
6. Results and Discussion was not adequate support and encouragement from their
schools in supporting the use of ICT in the classroom.
6.1 Results Generally teachers did not feel that as a school they had a
clear sense of direction on how to use ICT to enhance the
Results of the study showed that ICT integration in learning of students:
education was still a new pedagogy in Harare secondary
schools and various schools were still at different stages of
implementing this reform. There was a general appreciation
of the benefits of using ICT in teaching and learning but
various challenges had slowed the adoption of this reform.
Teachers lacked the required skills. Government schools had
started training teachers in the basic use of word processing
and presentation software in teaching. However, a number of
ICT applications, for example databases and curriculum
management software had never been used and professional
development courses in these areas had not been done.

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Figure 1: School Sense of Direction in how to use ICT

Figure 3: How frequently ICT is restricted
Many of the schools did not have the infrastructure required.
Resource shortage seemed to be worse in government 6.2 Discussion and Conclusions
schools and hence private schools were ahead in using ICT
in the classroom. Many Teachers did not feel that they had The results show that the schools in Harare are at different
adequate support and ICT resources for them to use ICT in stages of adopting ICT in education as a pedagogical tool.
their classrooms: This agreed with the results of a Harvard University-guided
e-readiness survey, which suggested the country was not
uniformly e-ready (Isaacs, 2007:4) [10].

The results show that there is still limited use of ICT in

Harare secondary schools with most teachers just using word
processing, presentation software and spread sheets for
adding up pupils’ marks. This agrees with Lau and Sim
(2008) [7], whose results showed that the ICTs most
commonly used by secondary school teachers in Malaysia’
were word-processing, PowerPoint and the World Wide
Web and that Video conferencing, synchronous
communications, use of databases or text reconstruction
software had seldom been used.

Teachers lacked some of the skills particularly in the use of

data bases. This is supported by Lau and Sim (2008) [7],
who reported that their respondents felt least competent in
statistical tools. This also concurs with Bukaily and Mubika
Figure 2: Use of ICT is encouraged and Access & support (2011:420) [11] who carried out a study on Teacher
Competence in ICT in Zimbabwean Secondary Schools.
In addition to that, surfing on the internet and lesson They found that (7.5%) teachers were knowledgeable and
preparation took more time than the teachers were prepared skilled in computer aided instruction, (58%) teachers
to invest considering that they had other targets such as indicated that they had knowledge of the word processing
syllabus coverage and preparation for examinations. software while a majority (79%) lacked knowledge and
Frequent power cuts also made it impossible to use ICT in skills of presentation software. The use of spread sheets was
the classroom at times particularly in schools where they had a familiar operation for only (43%) while the Internet and
not acquired generators. Most respondents stated that they Email skills and knowledge accounted for (37.5%) and
frequently encountered factors outside their control that (46%) respectively. Their results showed a lower ICT
restricted their use of ICT. literacy than that obtained in this study and this was
probably because their sample included teachers from rural
schools as well, where access to ICTs is definitely less than
in Harare the capital city.

The results show that access to ICTs has restricted teachers’

use of ICT in the classroom especially in the government
schools in Harare. This finding agreed with Gulbahar and
Guven, (2008) [6] who said that the teachers faced problems

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in relation to accessibility to ICT resources and lack of the education requires equal innovativeness in structural,
basic skills of usage of computers and other technologies pedagogical and curriculum approaches”.

Although internet facilities were available in most of the The study also recommends that technical support is
schools, there was restricted access and in some cases the necessary to assist teachers where they have problems. Help
speed was too slow to download movies and other resources should also be given in finding useful websites. The study
for use in teaching. This slow speed resulted in teachers also emphasizes the need for development of materials
feeling that they did not have time to use ICT in the which are suited to the current syllabus in use and posting
classrooms or that lesson preparation for use of ICT was them on an easily accessible website so that teachers do not
wasting valuable time for other activities which facilitated waste a lot of time searching all over the internet.
syllabus coverage and preparation for examinations. The Curriculum developers can be involved in this and they can
respondents also felt that integration of ICT in teaching and also develop software for assessment.
learning is time consuming and may delay syllabus coverage.
8. Conclusion
Schools lacked a clear sense of direction on how to use ICT
to enhance the learning of students. This finding concurred The integration of ICT in education has a lot of potential to
with Searson, Laferrie and Nikolow (2011) [1] who sited enhance teaching and learning in Harare secondary schools
lack of a policy framework and a shared vision as some of if it is carefully planned for and adequate support is given to
the barriers to successful implementation of ICT in teachers. The barriers which have been faced in integration
education. This area is very important to address considering of ICT are key aspects which educational institutions should
Hinostroza and Brun (2010) [12] whose results showed that address before implementation of the reform, to increase its
one of the most important factors in facilitating ICT effectiveness.
integration in schools was the principal’s vision for ICT-use
to support learning. This might have resulted from the lack
of a clearly formulated policy on ICT in secondary school
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Author Profile
`
Vimbai Edina Ndawi is a Science teacher at
Gateway High School. She is also the Year Head for
the form one division at this school. She holds a BSc
with Education degree, a post-graduate Diploma in
Project Planning and Management and an MSc in Rura and Urban
Planning. She is currently perusing a Ph.D. in education with Christ
University, Bangalore, India. Her areas of research are
Development Planning and Education.

Kennedy Andrew Thomas is the Director of Total

Quality Management System (TQMS) at Christ
University, Bangalore, India. He holds a Ph. D
Education (Bangalore University) 2007, M Ed
(Bangalore University), 1991, M A (Psychology,
Annamalai University), 1996 and a certificate in Guidance (CIG),
IGNOU. He is also a senior lecturer in the education department
and supervises a number of Ph. D students. He has pulished
numerous articles and books. His main area of research is Work
Motivation.

Leonorah Tendayi Nyaruwata holds a PhD in

Education management and Master of Education
Management and Policy studies from the
University of Pretoria. She is currently Senior
Lecturer, Higher Degrees Directorate at Zimbabwe Open
University (ZOU). Her career has included periods as Director for
Open and Distance Learning Research and Scholarship; research
evaluator; consultant; academic advisor; lecturer at Gateway Trust
Teachers Training; head of department and primary school teacher;
in Zimbabwe and South Africa. She is the chairperson of Research
and Analysis Committee for Distance Education Association of
Southern Africa (DEASA). She is on the Boards of Zimbabwe
Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC), Zimbabwe Trust and
Africa Learning Development Network (ALDN) Zimbabwe.

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