ABSTRACT
This work- extent of utilization of ICT resources in teaching and learning of History of Education in colleges of Education in Enugu state. To guide the study, four research questions were posed and four null hypotheses were equally formulated and tested. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Specifically the study was carried out at colleges of Education in Enugu state. A total population of two thousand, two hundred and seventy two (2272) first year students, including eight (8) lecturers were used for the study. 682 respondents formed the sample for the study which was drawn using multi-stage sampling technique. Three instruments were used for the study, which include a questionnaire titled “Extent of ICT utilization Questionnaire (EICTUQ); ICT-History of Education Teachers Competency (ICT-HETC) Test Instrument; and ICT Observation Checklist(ICTC). Crombach Alpha was used in determining the internal consistency of EICTUQ. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.64 was obtained for EICTUQ. While Kudder Richardson 20 (K.R.20) was used to obtain the internal consistency of ICT-HETC instrument and ICTC instrument. The reliability indices gotten are 0.99 and 0.96 for competency instrument and Checklist instrument. The research questions (2, 3, and 4) were answered using mean and standard deviation. While frequency and percentage were used to answer research question one. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses 2, 3 and 4 while Chi-square was used to test hypothesis one at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that ICT resources in teaching and learning of History of Education are mostly available in federal colleges of education when compared to private and state colleges of education. Also the lecturers in federal colleges of education use ICT resources more than lectures in state and private colleges of education in teaching and learning of History of education. Also there is no significant difference in the students’ utilization of ICT resources in learning of History of Education in federal, state and private colleges of education. Also there is no significant difference in the History of Education lecturers’ competence in the utilization of available ICT resources in federal, state and private colleges of education in Enugu state. Inline with the findings of the study, the educational implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations were equally proffered among others that History of Education lecturers, students, education administrators, government, and curriculum planner should lay more emphasis on adoption of effective utilization of available ICT resources in teaching and learning of History of Education in both federal state and private colleges of Education in Enugu State. Finally, the limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies were equally made.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
A society without knowledge of its past records in education appears to be backward both intellectually and materially. Learning about the past helps people make sense of the world in which they live. History of the past events is vital to the understanding of current events and for forecasting of future events (Ozochi, 2008). The past and the study of the past, appear to influence all aspects of people’s lives.
Hence, to know about the past, present and future of any society, knowledge of History of Education is imperative. The word history is from Greek word “Historia” meaning “inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation”. History of Education is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past educational events relevant to both past, present and future education (Brain & Richard, 2008). It is a field of study which uses narrative to examine and analyze the sequence of events, and it sometimes appears to investigate educational objectives, the patterns of cause and effect that determine educational events. Historians must reconstruct historical educational events using a range of evidence which can be incomplete, inconsistent and difficult to interpret (Masterman & Sharples, 2002). The objectives of History of Education as enshrined in the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Minimum Standards for NCE Teachers, (2008: 26) includes:
- To encourage in the students the growth of an awareness his responsibilities and opportunities as a Nigerian citizen
- To stimulate an appreciation of the world in which the student finds himself and to encourage students to develop mentalities which are suitable to post-colonial era and compatible with national and intellectual integrity
- To encourage students knowledge and appreciation of the world beyond Nigeria and Africa and to appreciate the common heritage of mankind.
- To enable students to develop and appreciation and understanding of historical development in Nigeria and contributions of our past heroes and heroines
- To develop in the students the capacity of analyzing issues critically.
- To develop skills of post secondary approach to the study of history in order to inculcate professional attitudes in the students so he can effectively teach history related subjects in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria of the 21st century.
- To give students solid foundation for further studies and research in history at both local and national levels.
Therefore, one of the objectives of history is to encourage students’ knowledge and appreciation of the world beyond Nigeria and Africa and to appreciate the common heritage of mankind. To this end, Orji (2002) posits that history of education is an attempt to examine the development of education from a historical perspective. Orji asserted that history of education tries to see education in its elaborate and intricate involvement with the rest of society. According to Uruakpa (2004:11) the study of history of education involves,
the study of the origins and development of education in any given society, the study of the past education practices which the modern education policy planners still find useful and relevant including the development of educational institutions, the study of the entire content and procedure by which a selected item of knowledge and values have been transmitted from one generation to another.
From the foregoing, it could be deduced that History of Education is a record of the past which helps to understand and appreciate the present and plan for the future. It tends to help in understanding the historical development of the educational heritage in order to fathom with and appreciate the present practices, processes, issues, and problems of education and be in better position to plan adequately for the future. With teaching advancing more and more in its journey to full professionalism, History of Education in the tertiary institutions, has become a separate discipline isolated from the mainstream of historical study (Orji, 2002). It is not only concerned with collecting and memorizing discrete facts about historical events or people, but it requires those studying it to understand a number of complex processes such as interpretation of the historical data, which are specific to the subject. To develop an understanding of history of educational event and sources of evidence, adult historians rely on a range of previous experience and knowledge, such that students that have less extensive knowledge and experience can find it difficult to develop the skills they need (Masterman & Sharples, 2002 and Britt & Aglinskas, 2002). This is because experience and knowledge anchore new information the learner will be exposed to. Hence, this calls for utilization of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for effective teaching and learning of History of Education for a conceptualization of the contents of the subject matter by the would-be teachers. Use of ICT in the pedagogy could foster better understanding of the nature of History of Education and its usefulness for better education practices.
The nature of History of Education and its usefulness as a discipline is an end in itself and is a way of providing “perspective” on the educational problems of the present (Brain & Richard, 2008). This implies that History of Education gives one an opportunity to think out the best way of solving various educational problems by looking at what happened in the past and how it affects education presently. Historians write in the context of their own time, and with due regard to the current dominant ideas of how to interpret the past, and sometimes write to provide lesson for their own societies. The study of History of Education can be seen as a bridge between humanities and social sciences incorporating their methodologies. This is because methods of data analysis employed in the social sciences are equally used in analyzing historical data, so that meaningful conclusion can be reached. In the words of Graham (2012) history of education has often been studied with some practical or theoretical aim, but also may be studied out of simple intellectual curiosity.
