IMPEDIMENT TO THE EFFECTIVE LEARNING OF COMPUTER STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABAKALIKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EBONYI STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

          A well developed scientific and technological base are conditional to any national human and material development. Nigeria has been classified as a developing nation and has continued to make a break through by emphasizing much on science and technology thereby making inclusive of computer studies in the curriculum of the junior and senior secondary schools.

          Over the years, most schools across the nation have been joining the technology revolution. Today, students have at least some form of technology available to them in school. This trend is not likely to change, so there is an increasing need for teachers who are literate in the use of the various types of technology. Manson and McMorow (2012) suggested that there are two distinct components to computer literacy; “awareness and competence”.

Awareness requires that a person should have understanding of how computer affect their daily life or society at large, and competence requires that a person should be able to exhibit a hands on expertise with a software application. Both of these components should be evaluated when looking at computer literacy within the classroom setting.

The world is advancing at a rapid rate and events have moved to the electronic stage with computer at the centre. This development has brought a lot of innovations and revolution into teaching and learning. The 3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic), which forms the nucleus of the old system of education has witnessed series of literacy reforms. The world is now in the age of technology, hence there is need to keep abreast with time.

One of the ways of achieving this is through the introduction of computer into our institutions of learning.

Jawad Khan ( 2013) “explain computer as an electronic machine that can solve different problem, process data, store and retrieve data and perform calculations faster and efficiently than humans”. These type of problems includes: time wastage,  error in calculation, difficulty in  storing and retrieving of information,  low research of new information etc.

 Ugoji (2011) view computer as an electronic machine that performs tasks, such as calculations or electronic communication under the control of a set of instructions called programs. The programs usually reside within the computer and are retrieved as processed by the computer. He went further into defining computer as an electronic machine that has the ability to accept data, process data and retrieve data i.e. give out the result as information. Okolo (2014) describes the term ‘computer’ as an electronic machine or gadget that accepts data as input and processes them electronically to produce the desired output or information with the aid of a set instructions.

Computer can be generally defined as an electronic device or gadget  that accepts data through an input device, processes the data  through the CPU and brings out the result of the data as information through the output device.  Educationally, computer is used to enhance teaching and learning.  Wikipedia (2010) describes learning as a change in behaviour based on previous experience. This learning therefore involves processing of various types of information. Computer study is very important to national development and it is on this premise that the Federal government of Nigeria sought to introduce computer studies in the education system from primary, secondary schools, through to tertiary institution. Education systems around the world face formidable challenges that are taxing conventional strategies.

IMPEDIMENT TO THE EFFECTIVE LEARNING OF COMPUTER STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABAKALIKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EBONYI STATE