| dc.description.abstract | Global reforms in education have been geared towards infusing ICT in the curriculum in educational institutions. Locally, one of the Kenya national goals of education as espoused in 2016 National ICT Policy and the Vision 2030 is to promote technological and industrial needs for national development. Promotion of innovativeness, inventiveness, creativity, technology transfer and an entrepreneurial culture is also an aspect of the guiding principles of the 2013 Kenya Basic Education Act. A number of studies have shown that principals exert influence on implementation of ICT in the curriculum hence the need to investigate the influence of principals, as change agents, on integration of ICT in teaching and learning in schools. However, studies undertaken in secondary schools in Kisumu County, Kenya appear deficient in principals’ influence on integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Moreover, a 2018 report from the Kisumu County Education Office indicated that only a few schools 34 (15.18%) had some system on ICT integration in teaching and learning while 190 (84.82%) lagged behind. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine perspectives on principals’ influence on integration of ICT in teaching and learning in secondary schools in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to establish how principals’ development of school ICT policy, facilitation of training of teachers in ICT, provision of ICT equipment and maintenance of ICT equipment influenced integration of ICT in teaching and learning in public secondary schools in Kisumu County, Kenya. The study would help the Ministry of Education and TSC formulate ICT policy that lays emphasis on principals’ leadership for ICT integration into the curriculum. The study adopted concurrent triangulation design within mixed methods research approach and it was underpinned by the Learning Organization Theory by Senge. 224 principals, 239 deputy principals and 896 HODs in Kisumu County were targeted. The sample size included 99 principals from the seven sub counties selected using stratified sampling while 28 deputy principals and 93 HODs were sampled through saturated sampling. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used for data collection. Instrument validity was ascertained using expert judgement by university supervisors. Reliability of questionnaires was ascertained using the split-half technique which yielded a Pearson’s reliability co-efficient of (r) = 0.739, implying that the test was adequate. Trustworthiness of qualitative data was guaranteed by using multiple sources of data. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Multiple Linear Regression Analysis) were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis Approach. The study’s key findings showed that principals’ development of school ICT policy (α=.024, p>.05) did not influence integration of ICT in teaching and learning in schools. However, results further showed that principals’ facilitation of training of teachers in ICT use (α=.338; p<.05), principals’ provision of ICT equipment (α=.134; p<.05) and principals’ maintenance of ICT equipment (α=.287; p<.05) influenced integration of ICT in teaching and learning in schools in Kisumu County, Kenya. It was concluded that principals’ development of school ICT policy did not influence integration of ICT in teaching and learning. Nevertheless, principals’ facilitation of teachers’ training in ICT, principals’ provision of ICT equipment and principals’ maintenance of
ICT equipment influenced integration of ICT in teaching and learning in schools in Kisumu County, Kenya. Regression analysis (Adjusted R2 = .247, p <.05) meant that 24.7% of the variation in the dependent variable was explained by the four predictor variables. It was recommended that principals should effectively lead development of school ICT policy, support regular in-service training of teachers in ICT, procure ICT equipment and set aside some school funds for maintenance of ICT equipment. Research is suggested on how principals’ development of school ICT policy influenced integration of ICT in the curriculum in Kenya’s other counties. | en_US |