Educational Leader (Pemimpin Pendidikan) 2021, Volume 9, Page 16

EXPLORING HEADMASTERS’ TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN

GHANA

John Biitian Lanbon

Department of Educational Management Planning and Policy,
Faculty of Education
University of Malaya
[email protected]

Siaw Yan Li
Department of Educational Psychology and Counselling
Faculty of Education,
University of Malaya
[email protected]

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ABSTRACT
Technology Leadership (TL) has become the centre of attraction in Educational Leadership,
mainly because the 21st century is technology-driven. The purpose of this study was to explore
how headmasters’ technology leadership could enhance effective teaching and learning of ICT in
Ghana using the schools for the blind as a case study. The research sort to explore whether
headmasters exhibit TL practices in the discharge of their duties as well as explain the challenges
headmasters have been facing and come out with the best way of addressing these challenges.
This qualitative case study collected data from two headmasters, four ICT teachers, two heads of
departments and two ICT laboratory assistance through interviews and observations. The data was
analysed qualitatively using Google Sheet and Draw.io Apps. The results showed that the
headmasters exhibted TL practises and this propelled them to be able to implement the teaching
and learning of ICT. Also, both the headmasters and their teachers had a good perception of the
need for the visually impaired to study ICT to acquire the relevant skills needed for their life-long
learning. The study classified the various challenges confronting the teaching and learning of ICT
as internal and external depending on who is directly responsible for addressing these challenges
so that they could be handled properly. The internal challenges are lack of technology management
in decision making, frequent breakdown of computer devices, lack of maintenance of broken
devices, teachers not able to teach practical lessons due to inadequate facilities among several
others. The external challenges identified are the inadequate supply of computers and assistive
devices, ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, lack of internet connectivity and insufficient
funding support from the government. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education and the
ICT directorate should intensify the contiguous training and in-service of the headmasters to ensure
that they develop the needed Technology Leadership skills for effective discharge of their duties.

Key Words: Technology Leadership, Visually Impaired, Assistive Technology Devices, Challenges

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1.1 Introduction

The term Technology Leadership (TL) is one of the emerging areas of study in the field of
educational leadership in the 21st century which has generated a lot of interest in the research field
due to two main reasons(Hamzah, Juraime, & Mansor, 2016). Firstly, we are in the era of Industrial
Revolution (IR) 4.0 which has come with the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in practically
every aspect of human life especially its impact on the teaching and learning process in the
classroom (Schwab, 2018). Secondly, in the 21st Century Education (21CE), learning is
completely ineffective without the use of ICT (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). Additionally, TL is aimed
at enabling principals to understand how they could help improve teaching and learning of ICT in
schools to help learners develop lifelong skills. It has been argued that technology-mediated
instruction has overtaken the traditional mode of lesson delivery in the classroom (Ramamurthy,
2017). Therefore, a clearer understanding of TL and its relevance to the 21st century education is
very important to school leadership.

Different studies have attempted to define the term Technology Leadership as related to the field
of Education. Technology Leadership (TL) is defined as the combination of leadership qualities
and the effective utilization of technology resources, equipment, and software to effect a change
that is aimed at achieving an organizational goal (Thannimalai & Raman, 2018). On the other
hand, Chua, (2017) defined TL as the integration of influence that consists of both the expertise in
using ICT and the expertise in leading and managing the educational institution to enhance
effective teaching and learning process (Chua & Chua, 2017). Furthermore, Technology
Leadership emphasizes and impinges on leaders to develop, manage and apply technological skills
in administration and management of institutional operations to improve performance (Håkansson
Lindqvist, 2019).

1.1.1 Background of the school for the Blind in Ghana

The schools for the Blind in Ghana were started by the early British Missionaries who started
teaching their converts how to read and write in the castles and forts along the coast where they
lived. They later established ‘Castle Schools’ for their children and some of the native children in
the communities they settled. One of such schools was that of special education needs which were
started as far back as 1936 by the early Christian Missionaries (Mfum-Mensah, 2004). Ten years
later, the Basel Missionaries officially started the school for the visually impaired at Akropong in
1946 in the Eastern Region of Ghana whilst the Methodist Missionaries started another school for
the blind at Wa in the Upper West region (north-west part) of Ghana. These schools adapted
different materials for teaching such as the Braille and the typewriter machines but were made to
follow the curriculum of regular education (Mantey, 2017; Mfum-Mensah, 2004).
Presently, there are two main residential Primary and Junior High Schools for the blind and five
integrated school (blind and deaf) which cater for the educational needs of visually impaired
children. It was not until the 2007 academic year when ICT was introduced into the curriculum of
these schools and was made an examinable subject by the West African Examination Council. The
schools were provided with ICT laboratories stocked with few computers and some basic
accessories each for practical work (Wiafe, 2017). The main aim of this study was therefore to find

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out how headmasters TL could help improve the teaching and learning of ICT in the schools for
the blind in Ghana. The study is expected to strengthen the headmaster’s technology leadership
practices that will enhance their efficiency.

1.2 Problem Statement

The technology-driven 21st century has revolutionized the functions of leadership at all levels of
educational institutions globally. More attention has been given to how leaders could be prepared
technologically to meet the rising demand of this century, with technology leadership becoming
one of the most recently researched areas in educational leadership (Chua & Chua, 2017; Lanbon,
Cheah, & Siaw, 2020). However, technology leadership is yet to be given the needed attention in
the educational system in Ghana, most especially in the schools for children with special needs
education such as the schools for the blind (Abraham Lois & Dzakpasu, 2019). Lack of strong
technology leadership seems to be the cause of the government’s Information Communication
Technology for All (ICT4All) initiative not being able to achieve its objectives of supplying ICT
devices and accessories to all Primary and Junior High Schools (JHS) in Ghana. As a result,
scholars have highlighted that effective teaching and learning of ICT has not been achieved as
expected (Agangiba, Nketiah, & Agangiba, 2017; Mantey, 2017). This is evident in the recent calls
in the media waves on the low performance of the blind and the visually impaired in the Basic
Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in ICT, coupled with the Chief Examiners of
West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) reports which alluded that the visually impaired
students have not been performing well in their final BECE ICT examinations over the past years
(Gyaase, Gyamfi, & Kuranchie, 2019).
With regards to the background headmasters experience in Technology, the general assumption is
that most of them are in their fifties and therefore are not well vested in use of modern technologies
since they might have completed their education before computers were officially introduced to
the school curriculum in Ghana (Abraham Lois & Dzakpasu, 2019; Asiedu-Appiah et al., 2017).
At the bottom line, a search from relevant literature indicates that there is a dearth of study on
Technology Leadership and how it can impact ICT for the visually impaired in Ghana
(Ampratwum & Offei, 2016; Lanbon et al., 2020). Therefore, there is a need to explore further
how the experiences of headmasters’ technological leadership could help address the challenges
impeding effective teaching and learning of ICT in the schools for the blind in Ghana.

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1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study to explore the background knowledge and skills of headmasters and their
ICT teachers as technology leaders in the school two main residential schools for the blind in
Ghana. More importantly, how the headmaster’s technology practices have helped in the
implementation of the teaching and learning of ICT in these schools in Ghana is of great relevance
to the study. Furthermore, since the implementation of ICT teaching and learning comes with its
associated challenges, the study intends to identify these challenges and classify them so that they
could be addressed easily by the various stakeholders in the implementation process.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1. Explore Headmasters Technology Leadership (HTL) practices in effective teaching and
learning of ICT in Ghana.
2. Identify the Challenges affecting Headmasters as Technology Leaders in the performance
of their duties

1.5 Research Questions

1. How can Headmasters Technology Leadership affect the effectiveness of teaching and
learning of ICT in Ghana?
2. How do the challenges affecting HTL affect effective teaching and learning of ICT in
Ghana?

1.6 Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework for this study shows how the various challenges affecting headmasters
Technology Leadership are classifified. These challenges were categorized as external and internal
depending on who is directly responsible to address the challenge. Those that emanated from
government and policy implementation issues such as conflicting policy objectives, inadequate
supply of computer and assistive technology devices and lack of internet connectivity are classified
as external challenges.
The external challenges are shown at the extreme ends of this framework which include policy-
related changes and Technology related challenges. Few among these challenges includes
divergent views from different policy makers on what exactly headmasters wich my results in
what Ulvik, Smith, and Helleve (2017) referred to as “professional dilemma”.

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The internal challenges are school related (Context), headmasters and teachers related (Innovator),
the ICT integration challenges (Innovation) and the students related challenges(Operators). These
are shown in the diagram in figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Technology Leadership (Modified from Groff & Mouza, 2008)

2.0 Headmasters Technology Leadership

The term technology leadership is the skills in influencing the performance of an institution by
principals with the help of their expertise in using ICT as well as their ability to lead and manage
academic issues. Leadership skills in technology consist of two aspects: ICT skills and leadership
skills. ICT skills include "deep knowledge" of ICT application and maintenance (functional;
technical; product-related; and customer-related); leadership skills represent expertise in
organisational development, i.e. leadership and management skills(perception; building and
aligning relationships across boundaries; sense making and inventing)(Patrick, 2018). The quality
of technology leadership depends on how well technology and leadership skills are integrated
(Courville, 2011), (Chua & Chua, 2017).
As highlighted previously in the last chapter, the term Technology Leadership is one of the
emerging areas of educational leadership in the 21st century which has generated a lot of interest
in the research field due to two main reasons (Hamzah et al., 2016). Firstly, we are in the era of
Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 which has come with the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in
practically every aspect of human life, especially its impact on the teaching and learning process
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in the classroom (Schwab, 2018). Secondly, in the 21st Century Education, learning is not
completely effective without the use of Information and Communication Technology (Saavedra &
Opfer, 2012). It has been argued that technology-mediated lessons will soon overtake the
traditional mode of lesson delivery in the classroom. Different studies have attempted to define the
term Technology leadership from different dimensions. According to Chua and Chua (2017.
p.73), technology leadership is “the integration of influence that consists of both the expertise in
using ICT and the expertise in leading and managing the educational institution” (Chua & Chua,
2017). The universality of 21st-century education demands a robust use of innovative and
emerging technologies the classroom. Therefore, Technology Leadership is a key ingredient in
managing the teaching learning process to equip present students with pertinent information and
skills they will need as future leaders in this fast-changing world (Telukdarie et al., 2018).

A study hypothesized those school leaders who desire transformation in teaching and learning,
must not prevent teachers from utilizing technology as an appropriate tool for teaching and learning
(Håkansson Lindqvist, 2019). Additionally, the principals’ technology leadership was found to be
the most effective way of implementing Technology for teaching and learning, which provides a
platform for students to work confidently with technology when completing a task which demands
the use of computers (Thannimalai & Raman, 2018).

It has been argued that principals and school leaders must become innovative leaders as they
can foster a learning community of the digital age, institutional culture in schools and the
advancement of skilled practice (Schoenbart, 2019). Adams (2018) stressed that technology
leaders must be a goal–oriented, hands-on and hip-deep in the curriculum and instruction, and
acquire skills in three areas, namely “strategy, innovation and leadership” (p. 171). Therefore, an
effective school principal does help to boost the performance and the integrity of education
(Veeriah, Chua, & Siaw, 2017).

2.1 Technology Leadership Practices

In an attempt to streamline the skills expected from Technology Leadership in education, the
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a non-profit making organization
responsible for the creation and updating of Technology Standards in education in 2014 established
a series of practices for Technology Leaders. These practices are defined as the expertise and
knowledge of technology that school managers and leaders need to effectively incorporate into
schools (Fuller, 2020). They are Visionary Leadership, Digital age Learning, Excellence in
Professional Practice, Institutional Enhancement, and Digital Citizenship. The functions below are
what each of these practices are intended to achieve.

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Visionary Leadership (VL): Educational Administrators are should be able to empower and lead
the creation and implementation of technology integration.

Digital Age Learning (DL): Educational administrators are expected to digitally facilitate
learning to enable students to acquire lifelong skills.

Excellence in Professional Practice (EPP): Educational administrators encourage professional

development and creativity that empowers students through technology and digital tools to
strengthen student learning.

Systemic Improvement (SI): Digital age leadership and management are provided by educational
administrators to continually develop the organization through the successful use of innovation.

Digital Citizenship (DC): Educational administrators to model and promote the awareness and
responsibilities of social, ethical and legal issues related to emerging digital learning

2.2 Challenges Facing Headmasters Technology Leadership Practices

Studies have shown that the educational sector has been noted as one of the areas which do not
often receive much support in the form of funding and ICT materials for teaching and learning
especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (Mwakyeja, 2013; Said, 2018). Inadequate support places a lot
of challenges on the schools, particularly on the headmasters or the principals.
Concerning the teaching and learning of ICT in the schools for the blind in Ghana, the
challenges even seem to be on the steeper slope. The review of the various work of literature has
identified several challenges affecting effective teaching and learning of ICT globally and
specifically the schools for the blind in Ghana. These challenges are broadly classify under Internal
and External challenges (Valenzuela et al., 2018). The differentiation of challenges depends on
who is directly responsible for providing the possible solutions to the challenges. For example,
challenges that fall within the jurisdiction of policy-makers such as the Ministry of Education,
governmental and non-governmental organizations. as well as other international bodies are
classified as external challenges. These may include issues related curriculum development,
construction of ICT laboratories and supply of teaching and learning materials, staff recruitments,
technical support, and funding among others. On the other hand, internal challenges are those
challenges affecting daily activities within the school boundaries such as effective teaching and
learning, the welfare matters of staff and students, teacher motivation, teachers development etc.
are classified under internal challenges because they can be handled locally the by school
authorities.

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3.0 Methodology

3.1 Research Design

The study used a Qualitative case study approach because it forms the basic framework for
outlining the interrelationships between the various research activities required to adequately
address the central research question (Creswell, 2017). According to Yin (2017) the choice of a
case study should be taken into consideration when: (a)the study aims to address "how" and "why"
questions; (b) the actions of those involved in the study cannot be manipulated; (c) you want to
cover contextual conditions because you think they are important to the phenomenon under study,
or (d) the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clear.
3.2 Participants of the study
The two schools for the blind were chosen because they form a unique group of institutions in the
educational sector in Ghana. More so, there is a limited number of studies conducted on
headmaster’s technology leadership and other related issues about the schools for the blind and the
visually impaired hence the need to conduct this study in this context.Table 1 shows the
background of the participants selected for the study.

Table 1:
Summary of Participants’ Background

Anonym Position Highest Degree Years of School Gender*

Service
H1 Headmistress Masters 12 A F
H2 Headmaster Masters 10 B M
T1 ICT teacher Masters 10 A M
T2 ICT teacher Bachelors 8 A M
T3 ICT teacher Bachelors 8 B M
T4 ICT teacher Bachelors 7 B F

HOD1 Head of Dept. Bachelors 10 A M

HOD2 Head of Dept. Bachelors 9 B M
Lab A 1 Lab Assistant HND 7 A M
Lab A 2 Lab Assistant HND 5 B F

** F= Female, M= Male

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3.3 Instrument for the Study

The study used an observation checklist, semi-structured interview guide and a field journal to
record the personal reflections as a Non-Participant Observer. To collect more detailed data from
the respondents, the semi-structured interview guide consisted of open-ended questions based on
the research questions and the units of analysis of the research. These interview questions were
intended to solicit the views of headmasters, HOD, ICT teachers, and Laboratory Assistant on
technology leadership, the effectiveness of ICT teaching and learning, and the challenges in the
integration of ICT in the schools for the blind among others.

3.4 Data Collection

The paper used a Semi-Structured Interview guide to collect the data from the respondents because
qualitative research always attempts to find answers to the ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions. Van
Teijlingen (2014) postulated that Semi-structured interview guide is an oral discourse between the
interviewer and the interviewee where the former (interviewer) tries to gather useful information
from a person (interviewee) through questions. This form of interview is flexible and
conversational, allowing the researcher the opportunity to explore and prop further on vital issues.
Other researchers supported the use of the semi-structured interview due to its flexibility.
However, Castillo-Montoya (2016) is of a counter opinion that semi-structured interview is
expensive and takes a lot of time if the research sample is large.

The researcher also augmented the data collection process by using a field journal to record the
observations as a Non -Participant Observer. This is to get detailed information on how teaching
and learning of ICT is done in each of the selected school for the blind visited. The process also
gave the researcher opportunity to have a fair idea of the various assistive technology devices
available in each of these schools. Non-Participant Observation is a process whereby a researcher
observes how a particular activity is carried out without interfering in the exercise (Sedgwick &
Greenwood, 2015). The Non-Participant Observation (NPO) offered the researcher the opportunity
for the first-hand experience of how ICT lessons are conducted by the teachers in the classrooms
and the ICT laboratory. This observation helped the researcher appreciate some of the challenge’s
teachers and the visually impaired learners go through during teaching and learning sessions.
3.5 Data Analysis
The data collected from the respondents were analysed with Google Spreadsheets using the five
steps inductive approach as opined by Thomas (2006). Using inductive analysis begins with the
preparation of raw data files (data cleaning). Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and
formatted to make it more meaningful. Once the text has been prepared, the raw was studied in
detail to become familiar with its content and gains an understanding of the themes and events
covered in the text.

The next step was the creation of categories or open coding. The researcher identified and defined
categories or themes. The upper-level or more general categories was obtained from the objectives
of the research. The lower-level or specific categories was derived from detailed readings of the

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raw data, sometimes referred to as in vivo coding. This was followed by inductive coding or Axial
Coding, where categories were created from actual phrases or meanings in specific text segments.
To enhance the coding process, the researcher used qualitative analysis Google Sheet and draw.io
tools.

The final stage was continuously revised with the refinement of the category system also referred
to as selective coding. The process continued to the point of saturation where no new ideas are
emerging from the data. At the saturation point, Silverman (2015) agrees with Burnard (1991) that
one stops the collation process because findings will produce the same results. The interpretation
arising from the analysis were discussed and related to current findings from the literature. The
themes and issues raised were presented as the results of the study.

Figure 2: Inductive Data Coding Procedure (Adapted by Watt, 2017)

3.6 Reliability and Validity

To boost the triangulation process of this study, Inter-Coder Reliability (ICR) tests were used to
test agreement between multiple coders (Olson, McAllister, Grinnell, Gehrke Walters, & Appunn,
2016). The k-value is defined as the percentage of chance-anticipated disagreements that do not
occur or, the percentage of the agreement after chance is eliminated (Cohen, 1960; Landis & Koch,
2016). The ICR test for this study was generated from fifteen codes by three coders or reviewers.
The results showed a substantial k-value. A high level of ICR indicates that the coding is both
accurate and replicable, thus confirming the proof that the findings of a qualitative sample are
scientifically valid (Kurasaki, 2000; MacPhail, Khoza, Abler, & Ranganathan, 2016). Fast forward
to the findings resulting from intercoder reliability test, the following presents the Agreement and
Disagreement table for Kapa Intercoder Analysis between three reviewers; R1, R2 and R3 analysed
in the table 2 below.

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Table 2:
Metric from the Reviewers 1 and 2

R1 Agree Disagree
R2 YES 7 3
NO 3 2

Using the following formula, the coefficient is calculated:

k= Po− Pc ----(1)
1 ─ Pc

Where Po = the proportion of units for which the judges agreed (relative observed agreement
among raters, Pc = the proportion of units for which agreement is expected by chance
(chanceexpected agreement. From the reviewers R1 and R2; Po = 0.80 and Pc = 0.37

k= -----(2)

Therefore, k = 0.68 ----- (3)

Therefore, the average k-value of 0.68 is rated as a substantial value representing 68% agreement
among the reviewers (MacPhail et al., 2016).

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4.0 Findings

Research Question 1: How can Headmasters Technology Leadership affect the effectiveness of
teaching and learning of ICT in Ghana?

The findings for the first research question which is on Headmasters Technology Leadership was
analyses, it came out that from the responses that many headmasters in Ghana are inclined to with
technology leadership and its relevance. They were more concerned with building ICT laboratories
that are well equipped with modern facilities to enhance effective teaching and learning of ICT for
a better examination result. The summary of findings of the subthemes under RQ1 is presented in
Table 3 below with it is a cross-tabulation.
Table 3
Headmasters’ Technological Leadership Practices
Sub-themes Definition of the sub-theme Codes under sub-theme Density
Count
Headmasters’ This sub theme explains the • Build up-to-date ICT Lab (2)
Technology technological leadership for Teachers and Students
Leadership practices that headmasters • Make students acquire (4)
practices adopted for their schools. needed ICT skills for
lifelong living (5)
• Promote Digital Age
Learning
Headmasters This sub-theme explains • Headmasters showed (3)
as Visionary headmasters displayed somewhat visionary
Leaders visionary leadership leadership (6)
• Headmasters showed
visionary leadership
• Headmasters did not show (1)
visionary leadership

Headmasters This sub-theme explains • Headmasters displayed (6)

displayed whether headmasters Excellence in Professional
Excellence in displayed Excellence in Practice (2)
Professional Professional Practice
Practice • Headmasters professional (2)
practice is questionable
• Headmasters show little
professional practice is
questionable

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The Headmistress of School A expressed her view on her practices. She added:

" Am more concern about promoting digital age learning for both teacher and the students and to
make sure that they get the needed ICT devices to learn. This will help them acquire the life-long
learning skills demanded in this 21st century. Next to this is to ensure that the students pass their
exams with better grades…my ICT teachers and students must get a good ICT lab to make teaching
and learning active…”
Respondent H1, Cell C6
Headmaster H2 added:
“One of the things people want to see in the schools is whether you have the right ICT devices for
teaching and learning of ICT to enable the learners to acquire the needed skills, and that is my
priority for my school. Yes…”
Respondent H2, Cell G6
The ICT teachers believed that what informs headmasters practices for technology development in
their schools was the nature of the ICT curriculum. According to Teacher T1,
“I see my headmistress encouraging the students to take their ICT lessons very seriously to enable
them learn practical skills… because the syllabus is biased towards practical skill development.
That is the problem… almost all the topics as well as their final exams are theory-based ….”
Respondent T1, Cell D6
Therefore, the first technology leadership practice on digital-age learning is still at developing
infrastructure and equipping the ICT labs with the needed devices. The headmasters do this to
ensure that their students pass the final ICT qualifying examination with good results. Promoting
digital earning with technology override skills development for lifelong living. This is because the
ICT curriculum in Ghana is exam-based which invariably affect the headmaster’s technology
leadership practices.
Headmaster H2 also expressed a similar opinion on his familiarity with technology and displayed
professional practices with technology and added that he was privileged to have some level of
education in technology while he was a teacher. He added:

“My IT knowledge is dated back to my university education era where I developed an interest in
IT and started learning on my own. As someone keen on learning new skills, I have been learning
from everyone and everywhere… I believe this has given me a lot of experiences so far technology
related issues are concern…” However, I wouldn’t rate myself as being very good in IT; maybe
just good- as an administrator, I encourage professional development and creativity to empower
students through technology and digital tools to strengthen student learning ….”

Respondent H2, Cell G8

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T1 further explained that:

"My headmistress has improved drastically in her experiences with ICT. I’m aware she had no IT
background initially; she used to seek my help whenever she encounters any challenge using
her PC, but now she is aspect…. I’m happy the way she has become so good, hahahaa..."

Respondent T1, Cell D7

For further explanation, data shows that one of the hallmarks of technology leadership is the ability
to initiate and to be innovative in seeking for the ICT devices needed to help the development of
an institution. Every technology leader must be a visionary leader who has the skills of taking
initiatives and carries his teachers along in advancing technology implementation. It is evident
from the above analysis that headmasters of the schools for the blind in Ghana have a good sense
of technology initiatives.
The conclusion from the first objective indicates that Technology Leadership is a novel form of
leadership in Ghana even though the headmasters interviewed showed a high level of technology
leadership skills. Table 4 shows the challenges that headmasters faced in the implementation of
ICT teaching and learning.

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Table 4:
Challenges that Headmasters faced in the implementation of ICT teaching and learning
Sub-Themes Within Subthemes Definition of Sub- Codes under Sub-theme Count
Density
theme
Challenges in External challenges This sub-theme • Failure of government to (2)
External facing the explains the provided internet
environmental headmasters and ICT challenges facilities (3)
boundaries of teachers. headmasters and
• Inadequate financial support
the school. teachers faced in
from MOE to maintain ICT (2)
ICT teaching and
Lab
learning which is
beyond the • MOE policy on
boundaries of the prohibition of mobile
school. devices in schools
(3)
• Inadequate Assistive
Technology (AT) devices
Challenges in Internal challenges Technological • Teachers lack required (2)
internal in technological challenges which skills on modern Assistive
environmental management for ICT are within the Technology (AT) devices
boundaries of the teachers environmental • Frequent breaking down of (2)
school. boundaries of the ICT devices by the students
leadership of • Lack regular in-service (4)
schools training for teachers.
(2)
Consequences of This sub-theme • Teachers are not able to
internal challenges to explains the teach practical skills (3)
Teaching and internal
• Schools are not able to get good
learning challenges of results in their ICT exams (2)
teaching and
• Students are not able to acquire
learning of ICT
the requisite ICT
• skills needed for life (5)

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Research Question 2: How do the challenges affecting HTL affect effective teaching and
learning of ICT in Ghana?

The findings from the second research question show that the headmasters face diverse challenges
which affect the teaching and learning of ICT in the schools for the blind and the visually. These
challenges can be classified into two; external and internal challenges. This is because some of
these challenges emanate from sources outside the confines of the school and therefore is classified
as an external challenge. However, there are others which are from within the confines of the
school and are therefore classified as an internal challenge. The analysis of the external challenges
indicates that inadequate financial support from MOE to maintain ICT Laboratory and MOE policy
on prohibition of mobile devices in schools are the two main issues affecting the teaching and
learning of ICT in the school for the blind in Ghana.
The responses to the questions on internal challenges affecting the schools for the blind
show that the majority of the respondents attested that frequent breaking down of the computers
and assistive technology devices by the students was one of their main challenges. These
challenges as stated above do not affect only the students but the teachers as well. The first
subtheme within the internal challenges shows that there is inadequate computers and Assistive
Technology devices and the frequent breakdown of these devices have rendered teachers incapable
of teaching ICT practically which has resulted in learners not able to acquire the needed basic
practical skills such as word processing
Headmaster H2 also mentioned the lack of ICT lab as a challenge but was more emphatic on the
lack of assistive technology and other computer devices. He added:
" I am more concerned about how we can make ICT teaching and learning effective, but this cannot
be done without internet connectivity…. the use of the appropriate assistive technology devices
and the recommended software applications for learning…. unfortunately, these devices and
software are woefully inadequate…government supply has not been reliable at all. It takes a long
time to receive material support from the powers that be….”
Respondent H2, Cell G15

Another pressing issue that was mentioned is the government ban on the use of mobile devices in
Ghana. Lab Assistant A 1 further expounded his point:
“I think the government ban on the use of mobile devices in schools is impeding the effective
teaching and learning of ICT in this school. Learners do not have access to ICT devices after the
normal classroom work which is not the best….”
Respondent ST2, Cell K15

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5.0 Discussion
Research Question 1: How can the Headmasters’ Technology Leadership Practices help in the
implementation of the teaching and learning of ICT in the selected schools for the blind in Ghana?

To answer this question, qualitative descriptive data from interviews and observations were
used with the main focus on the exact quotations from the transcripts of the respondents. The
findings indicated that the headmasters and teachers in the schools for the blind in Ghana had sound
knowledge and experience in the use of technology. This influences their practices of using
technology in the schools for the blind. The information from the biodata of headmasters shows
that they completed their bachelors’ degree program in education before technology become part
of the curriculum for teachers. As such one would have expected these headmasters to be digital
natives with little or no knowledge about computers. Indeed, they admitted that they never had
the opportunity of studying technology however, their knowledge and experience in ICT is as a
result of the continuous training and personal development. They therefore exhibited qualities such
as visionary leadership, digital learning and professional practice s technology leaders. The
continuous training coupled with positive mind set in technology play a key role in enhancing the
effective teaching of ICT in the schools for the blind in Ghana. This finding is in line with Lanbon
et al. (2020) concluded in their research that the continuous training of headmasters in the schools
for the blind in Ghana influences the use of technology in their schools.

Relating to how technology leadership can enhance effective teaching and learning of ICT,
research has shown that Technology Leaders have the propensity to integrate and supply
technology devices for teaching and learning to bring transformation in an organization for
improvement in performance as well as output (Al-Hariri & Al-Hattami, 2017). Furthermore,
Gurley, Anast-May, O'Neal, and Dozier (2016) also posited that effective technology integration
and implementation must have the sole objective of improving students’ achievement in
technology. The above findings are consistent with Adams (2018) that the more technology is
applied to teaching and the management of a school process, the better the quality of the school
performance in ICT. What is more, Courville (2011) found that technology leaders are strong
advocates for further use of technology and have a major impact on functions, procedures and uses
of technology. Furthermore, technology leadership requires a great deal of proficiency in
technology integration and implementation into the classroom (Lanbon et al., 2020).

Therefore, the findings related to the first research question indicated that Technology
Leadership plays an important role in the effective ICT implementation of teaching and learning
of ICT because the headmasters have good working skills and experiences as technology leaders.
However, the concept of ‘Technology Leadership’ is still a new one in Ghana, and therefore there
is a dearth of study in this area.

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Research Question 2: How do the challenges affecting HTL affect effective teaching and learning
of ICT in Ghana?

Findings related to the second research question showed that the internal challenges are caused by
external challenges. The main internal challenges identified frequent breakdown of devices and
inadequate ICT and AT devices. The headmasters devoted their attention to internal challenges
because they were within their means. Again, the Headmasters felt that dealing with internal
challenges was both practical and manageable. The headmasters however lamented that the
challenges could not be solved completely since they were not able to tackle the root causes of the
challenges. The above findings are in line with Kauffman, Anastasiou, Badar, Travers, and Wiley
(2016) who reported that the supply of educational materials and facilities to schools in Ghana is
skewed against the schools for the Blind in Ghana. Furthermore, Vishwakarma, Sharma, and
Vishwadhiyalaya (2015) found out that lack of AT devices in schools for the Blind had a direct
impact on students’ performance and the knowledge of ICT use. Inadequate supply of ICT devices
leads to the feeling of discrimination and the lack of interest in AT use. This challenge has
compelled some ICT teachers to think that teaching ICT to the blind and the visually impaired is
not a priority of the Government(Opoku, 2016).
In similar studies conducted in Tanzania, 58% of the respondents admitted that the main
challenge facing the schools for the blind was inadequate ICT facilities. The study therefore,
concluded that ICT facilities played a key role in enhancing effective teaching and learning of
ICT(Eligi & Mwantimwa, 2017). Research by Ampratwum and Offei (2016) reported that 95% of
some selected final year students in the schools for Blind in Ghana complained of weakness in
keyboard skills and JAWS application because most of these devices were not functioning
effectively. This was confirmed by Jadhav, Chambers, and Tatpuje (2020) who observed in a study
that teachers’ main challenge with ICT teaching and learning was the inadequate Assistive
Technology (AT) devices. The second research objective on the challenges affecting effective
teaching and learning of ICT was also achieved in this study.

5.1 Implications of The Study

The main objective of this study was to investigate how headmasters’ technology leadership
could help propel the teaching and learning of ICT in the school for the blind in Ghana. The
findings from the study and supported by literature have two main implications for advancing the
body of knowledge in 21st century education. In the first place, technology leaders play an
important role in the implementation of teaching and the learning of ICT however, the exact
practices expected to be demonstrated by the technology leaderships are not specified for the
headmasters to follow. This study will therefore add to the existing body of knowledge on
technology leadership practices. Again, the study could be useful to teachers and educators as well
as IT trainers in general about how these TL practices could enhance the learning of ICT.

The information provided could help bridge the digital gap between the willingness of headmasters
to implement ICT teaching and learning and the skills required to make the implementation process

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reality as a requirement of 21st-century education. Since the literature on Technology Leadership

is quite limited in the context of Ghana, the paper will form the basis for further studies on other
aspects of Technology leadership. The findings will help policymakers, stakeholders, and
practitioners to search for effective ways of solving the challenges impeding the smooth
implementation of ICT education the schools for the blind and beyond.
5.2 Suggestions for Future Studies
The present study exemplifies the need for identifying more programs that may help to develop
more technology leaders who will also promote technology education at all levels of schools in
Ghana. There is, therefore, the need for further studies to analyse why there are disparities
between what found in the ICT curriculum and what is implemented and how these differences
can be ironed out to bring about uniformity and coherence in ICT teaching and learning in the
schools for the blind. There is a need to examine and compare the impact of technology
leadership with transformational leadership in enhancing the teaching and learning of ICT in the
Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in Ghana.

5.3 Conclusion
This study aimed to analyses how technology leadership could enhance effective teaching and
learning of ICT in the schools for the blind and the visually impaired in Ghana. To achieve this
purpose, a qualitative research methodology was adopted, and data was collected using interviews
and observation. The data was collected from headmasters, ICT teachers and other key staff
members were analyzed using Google Sheet and draw.io apps. The findings indicated that
Headmasters as Technology Leaders play a key role in shaping ICT education in the schools for
the blind in Ghana. The results also clarified that the main challenges facing the schools for the
blind are both internal and external. The internal challenges are lack of technology management
in decision making, frequent breakdown of computer devices, lack of maintenance of broken
devices, teachers not able to teach practical lessons due to inadequate facilities among several
others. The eternal challenges identified are the inadequate supply of computers and assistive
devices, ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, lack of internet connectivity and insufficient
funding support from the government.
In short, technology leadership is still a new spectrum in educational leadership especially ICT
education in Ghana and every human and materials resources need to be harnessed to help prepare
more technology leaders to improve upon the standard of ICT education in Ghana. Finally, the
findings will contribute to the body of knowledge in Technology Leadership and ICT education in
Ghana.

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