GHANA REPORT The survey Summary of Findings - ERNWACA

• There is a need to review all pre tertiary educationprogrammes in a manner that will enable teachersto integrate ICT in their instructional delivery• There is a need to introduce into School-BasedAssessment (SBA) the use of ICT, by askinglearners to produce at least one assignment usingcomputer application software. (This can beginat the SHS level)Teacher Education Division (TED)• Need to review ICT programmes of the teachereducation institutions to enable prospective teachersto develop ICT integration skill.• Pre-service programmes should include at leastone course taken via the online mode to developthe trainees’ capacity to use ICT toolsSchools• Managers or heads of institutions should ensurethey organize school-based in-service training inICT usage for their staff.• Past students associations, NGOs and PTAsshould be encouraged to get more actively involvedin supporting schools in setting up computerlabs and increasing the number of computers andaccessoriesIntroductionThe Pedagogical Integration of ICT project hascome at an opportune time in Ghana to contribute tothe ICT broadening process and to participate in theaccess, construction, and production of knowledgein the information era. The project is a great opportunityfor the nation because the integration of ICTinto her educational system was formally introducedas part of educational reforms which began inSeptember 2007 as part of government’s initiativeto improve quality of teaching and learning in thenation’s schools. One major requirement of the 2007educational reform was to ensure that all studentsin pre-tertiary institutions in Ghana acquire basicICT literacy skills (including internet use) and applythese not only in their studies but also in a varietyof ways in their everyday life activities (CRDD,2007a, b and c).Computer technology use for teaching and learningis gaining acceptance in education globally but inGhana efforts to use ICT in education began toreceive governments’ attention only recently. Ghana’srecent participation in an international surveywhich was used to rate the ICT Development Indices(IDI) of the participating countries revealed that thecountry ranked between 100 th and 140 th positionout of 154 countries surveyed (ITU, 2009). Thisindicates that Ghana, like many African countries,still lags behind in ICT development, use, andknowledge and skills as well as ICT basket values(see Table 4 in Appendix). For Ghana, and Africaas a whole, to be able to fully integrate ICT intoteaching and learning there is the need for frequentcollection and analysis of data on ICT usage. The‘Pan-African Agenda on Pedagogical Integrationof ICT’ project, which is being coordinated by theInternational Development Research Centre (IDRC)in Canada, was therefore instituted to address thisvery important need.The main research goal of the project is to betterunderstand how the pedagogical integration of ICTcan improve the quality of teaching and learning ineducational systems of participating African countries.To achieve this goal in all the participating14 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

countries, and for that matter Ghana in particular,the following specific research objectives wereaddressed in the Phase 1 of the study:• determine whether or not the nation has an ICTpolicy in place to guide its educational system;• take inventory of different types of ICT usageand describe the state of ICT connectivity, andinfrastructure in the nation’s educational institutions;• describe how teachers are given pre-service andin-service training in ICT usage for educationalpurposes;• examine gender equity in ICT usage, access andtraining opportunities;• identify teachers’ professional developmentneeds in ICT usage for educational purposes;• document the role of principals, administrativepersonnel, educators, and the community in ICTintegration;• appraise how the use of ICT applications hasinfluenced classroom practice and students’learning;• identify successes and challenges of ICT usagein the nation’s educational institutions.MethodologyFive institutions (see Table 1), which were representativeof the nation’s pre-tertiary and tertiaryeducational institutions, were purposively selectedfor the study.Table 1Institutions selected for the studyInstitution Type Town Region LocationUniversity of Education, Winneba Teacher Training (advanced) Winneba Central UrbanSenior High Secondary-Technical Secondary/Technical (upper) Obrachire Central Non-urbanAsuasi Technical Institute Secondary/Technical (upper) Asuasi Central Non-urbanAyirebi Junior High Secondary (lower) Akyem-Ayirebi Eastern Non-urbanTamale Senior High SecondarySchoolSecondary (upper) Tamale Northern UrbanThe choices of these research sites were based onthe requirements of the project to get representativeinstitutions across the educational system,and across geographic locations. Interactions theresearch team had with members of the NationalICT Policy and Plan Development Committee andofficers of the National Science Resource Centre inAccra, informed the decision to select the institutionsinvolved in the study. Furthermore, in viewof time constraints on the team, consideration ofproximity and access to the schools also influencedthe selection of these sites.At the teacher education level, it will be necessary toexplain why the University of Education, Winneba(UEW) was selected out of the 40 institutions inthe country. Pre-service teacher training in Ghanais offered at two levels. One is the teacher educationuniversity level and the other is the college of education(formerly referred to as teacher training college)level. The latter is wholly initial teacher trainingwhere secondary school graduates are trained toteach in primary and junior high schools; there are38 of such institutions scattered all over the country.The former trains a few teachers for primary andPhase 1 • National Reports • 15

Brief summary of participatinginstitutionsThe institutions involved were a junior high schoollocated in a non-urban area, one senior high schoollocated in an urban centre, a secondary technicalschool in a non-urban area, a technical school ina non-urban area and a teacher training universitylocated in an urban area. All the institutions weremixed in terms of gender.The results show that all the schools have very limitedICT facilities (see Table 2 in the Appendix).At the pre-tertiary level, the few computers that theschools have easily break down because of lack ofair-conditioners, unstable electrical power supply,and virus infections. The student per computer ratiois high. At the SHS level there is an average ofabout 30 students to a computer and 50 students toa computer at the tertiary level.Challenges and successesIn Ghana the national curricula for the varioussubjects contain policy statements about the use ofICT in teaching and learning. But the limitationsimposed by inadequate number of computers ininstitutions and lack of internet connectivity pose amajor challenge to the implementation of the policyto integrate ICT into teaching and learning.The major success is that despite the inadequacies,all the institutions have some computers and someforms of computer laboratories where teaching ofICT takes place. Also, each institution had ICTinstructor(s) who help in teaching the ICT course.Generally, it is only the ICT course that is taught inthe schools using ICT facilities. Despite the limitedICT resources, some students showed tremendousinterest in using ICT in their schools. Where thereis internet connectivity, both educators and learnerswere able to obtain information from the WorldWide Web on the subject matter of their courses.At the tertiary teacher-education institution (i.e.UEW), the educator per computer ratio is nearlyone, as shown in the figure above. That is, almostall educators have access to a computer and manyuse their own in the office. Though most of thecomputers in the labs and offices in UEW had internetconnectivity, only one of the SHS had it. Thejunior high school and the two non-urban SHS didnot have it (see Table 3 in the Appendix).Indications are also that ICT is used in typing examinationquestions and in some cases educators useICT in processing students’ examination results.Realizing the importance of ICT, some educatorsseek training or further training in the use of thecomputer. Furthermore, tutors who use ICT inteaching have realized that their ability to evaluatelessons has improved. Most lecturers who were enthusiasticabout using ICT in teaching and learninghave purchased their own laptops, which they usein their classrooms and seminar presentations.Phase 1 • National Reports • 17

Evidence based on analysisAvailability of national policy on ICTGhana has developed a national framework onwhich the deployment of ICTs in the educationsector is to be based. This framework is containedin the Information Communications Technologyfor Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) document(Republic of Ghana, 2003). The ICT4AD policyseeks to provide a framework in which informationand communication technologies will be usedto transform the educational sector, allowing allGhanaians to pursue quality life long learning opportunitiesregardless of their geographical location.The policy is an ambitious plan requiring technologyexpertise, infrastructure, and commitment onthe part of politicians, educational administratorsand educators to implement. The policy identifiedthe Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, theuniversities, polytechnics, colleges of education, andresearch institutions, as well as local and foreigneducational and training provision organizations(multilateral institutions and Non-GovernmentalOrganization) as the key implementation agencies,players, and stakeholders. The Ministry of Educationis in the process of developing a new ‘ICT inEducation Policy’ (MOE, 2006) to replace the onedeveloped in 2003 in order to outline strategiesand implementation procedures and modules thatwould guide the development and deployment ofICT across the educational system.Types of ICT use by educatorsand learnersAt the pre-tertiary level, Core ICT instructors and,to a limited extent, Science teachers reported usingICT for teaching and learning purposes. The ICTinstructors used the Microsoft Office suite, EncartaEncyclopedia, the Internet, and typing software intheir instructional activities. In all the pre-tertiaryinstitutions under the study, teachers who claimedthey used ICT for teaching and learning did notuse same for lesson delivery because the computerlaboratories were not equipped with digital projectorsand other presentation equipment. The fewteachers who reported using ICT in instruction toa limited scale were mathematics graduates fromUEW. These were mostly the Core ICT instructors.Almost all other teachers do not use ICT for teachingand learning at the pre-tertiary schools.At the UEW, however, ICT literate educators usethe Internet for searching for teaching and learningmaterials which they integrate in their lessons. Theyalso use the Microsoft word processor for preparinglesson plans, typing examination papers, and lessonnotes. Most ICT users use PowerPoint and digitalprojectors for lesson delivery in their classrooms.Some use Yahoo Messenger, and Skype to communicatewith their learners on a regular basis, butcell phones remain the most common media forcommunication with students because most studentsdo not have reliable access to the Internet. Educators(all faculty members) use online student informationsystem to record students’ grades.In the pre-tertiary institutions, almost all the ICTteachers indicated that the Internet has been a mainsource of teaching and learning materials, whichthey used for their lesson planning. In the UEW,faculty stated that the use of ICT has enhanced thequality of lesson preparation, delivery and assessment.They claimed that the use of the Internet toget new ideas to incorporate in lessons has enrichedthe content of their instruction.At the pre-tertiary level, the common types of ICTused by learners are computers, CDs and mobilephones. The major type of ICT use by the learnersis for purposes of word processing. Students learnto type their pieces of work given as assignment inICT lessons, but have no opportunity to print outhard copies due to lack of printers. In two of thepre-tertiary schools, students use Mavis Beacontyping software to practice their typing skills. Theyalso use Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia for learningspelling and grammar, and search for informationabout their subject area content.18 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

ICT training in pre-service teachereducation programmesThe study showed that at the pre-tertiary levels,teachers are not trained to use ICT for teaching andlearning, though the new curricula required thatteachers integrate ICT into instruction across thecurriculum. Visits to, and interviews with, teachersin some of the colleges of education revealed thatthe colleges of education were doing little to equiptrainees with skills necessary to integrate ICT intoteaching during their pre-service teacher trainingprogrammes. This study has also shown that theteaching universities are not doing much in thisregard.Only one department in the UEW is offering a programmewhich trains teachers to teach computereducation in secondary schools - the Departmentof ICT Education at the Kumasi Campus. Thisdepartment enrolls less than 5% of the university’sstudents. The remaining 95% of the students enrolledby the university take only an introductioncourse in ICT in order to acquire basic computerliteracy skills. This is a general course offered to allstudents at Level 100 to acquaint them with technologyapplications commonly found in educationalsettings. Students are taught basic skills in wordprocessing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, web questand how to preview educational software. In addition,the course exposes students to ways of usingthe computer to enhance classroom instruction,communication and classroom management. This isdone in computer laboratories across the universitiescampuses. Presently the Winneba campus has sixlabs with a total capacity of over 500 networkedcomputers for students work.In addition to the general course in ICT taken byall students at Level 100, certain departments offeradditional course(s) that require the further use ofthe computer labs. The students in the Department ofMathematics Education take a 3-credit hour coursein ICT each semester and therefore are adequatelyexposed to teach using ICT. Also students offeringArt Education take an ICT course in Graphic Designand Technology and those in Music EducationDepartment take ICT course in Music Technology,which is used for composition.It can be concluded that over 95% the UEW students,like the trainees in the colleges of education,are not experiencing programmes that will offerthem adequate opportunities to develop their pedagogicalskills in integrating ICT. This observationhad been confirmed by a recent study by the ‘ICTin Education Programmes Unit’ of the Ministry ofEducation (MOE) which recommended that the ICTteacher-training syllabi/courses of the colleges ofeducation and the teacher training universities needto be reviewed to ensure that graduates possess thenecessary skills needed to support ICT as a subject(core and elective) or use ICT as a means of integration(MOE, 2009).ICT training in in-service teachereducation programmesThe Ghana Education Service is expected to provideICT in-service training that would empower teachersto effectively use ICT in teaching and learning, butas at the time of collecting the data no such traininghad taken place. However, at the pre-tertiary level,predominantly the Core ICT teachers reported tohave participated in continuing professional developmentactivities that did not exceed 50 hoursand included ICT integration. These constituteabout 10% of educators, meaning about 90% ofpre-tertiary educators are yet to receive ICT relatedprofessional training. None of the educators reportedto have participated in continuing professionaldevelopment activities that exceeded 50 hours andincluded ICT integration.At the teacher education universities, there were reportsof planned school-based in-service training orprofessional development activities involving ICT.At the UEW most of the faculty had participatedin ICT workshops organized by the university toequip staff with basic skills and knowledge in ICTliteracy, information management, and to limitedextent, to ICT integration across the university curriculum.About 90% of educators reported to haveparticipated in continuing professional developmentactivities that did not exceed 50 hours and includedPhase 1 • National Reports • 19

ICT integration. For continuing professional developmentactivities beyond 50 hours, only 3% reportedto have participated in such activities. This meansthat even at the tertiary level, there is still a lot tobe done to empower educators for effective ICTintegration across the curriculum.One thing that is being done to address the situationis the university’s Center for Continuing Educationprogramme that gives orientation to newly recruiteduniversity faculty. This programme envisages,among other things, to train new faculty to design,develop, and deliver online courses.Competencies required for ICTuse by educatorsThe results show that most of the educators havelimited skills and knowledge in ICT integration forteaching and learning. The few who claim to useICT integration techniques in instruction basicallyrely on PowerPoint presentations as if that was theonly way to integrate ICT into instruction.As the pre-service and in-service teacher educationprogrammes failed to provide adequate ICT trainingthat would empower teachers to effectively use ICTin teaching and learning, almost all the educators atthe pre-tertiary and tertiary levels indicated that theyrequired training in ICT competencies and skillsincluding the following:• typing and advanced word processing• using spreadsheets (or excel)• using AutoCAD• using PowerPoint in creating presentations as wellas how to present the slides when teaching;• browsing the internet• creating multimedia instructional materials usingmultimedia tools• creating course websites to upload digital teachingand learning content• using statistical data analysis packages such asSPSS• how to use ICT integration techniques in instruction.Impact of ICT use on teachingand learningThe responses from some of the educators andlearners involved in the study point to a positiveimpact of ICT applications on students’ access toknowledge. Some of the students interviewed statedthat the use of ICT had equipped them with skills tosearch for information (from CD-ROMs or Internet)and this had helped them gain more knowledge ofsome of the things they study in many subjects,increasing their confidence in making contributionsduring class discussions. They also stated that theuse of computer illustrations had helped them inunderstanding abstract ideas and concepts andthe “Mavis Beacon Typing” software had made iteasier, cheaper, and quicker for them to learn howto type.The ICT instructors interviewed did not onlyconfirm that ICT had been helpful in increasing thestudents’ information search skills, but also addedthat the grammatical and typographical errors intheir completed assignments had reduced becauseof the ability to use the spell and grammar checkfunctions of the word processing program on thecomputer.At the UEW, students used the Internet for searchingfor information, downloading driver software forrepairs, and for communication with lecturers andfriends. A few also used Microsoft Word for producingtheir assignments.Examples of ICT-based productionsby teachers and learnersLittle documentation produced by learners usingICT is available in the pre-university institutions.None of the students indicated they had used thecomputer for assignments in subjects other than theCore ICT. Since in many of the schools the assignmentsare marked on the computer and deleted tofree space for other students to work, nothing wasavailable in students’ documentation or ICT-basedproductions. But at the UEW, exhibits of students’computer course assignments were obtained; alsosamples of assignments in other subjects produced20 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

with the computer were made available to the team.Some faculty observed that the use of ICT tools easetheir lesson preparation and delivery, and expandtheir access to new information from the web. Ingeneral, the impact of ICT use on educators at UEWcould not be established as very few teachers andfaculty actually integrate ICT in their instructionalactivities.The factors supporting the use of ICT by educators andlearnersThe learners and educators stated two factors thatsupport their use of ICT in the institutions. One isthe availability of ICT syllabuses/manuals and ICTteachers who are willing to provide them with training.The other is the availability of computers andcomputer labs which they can access periodically.The challenges to the use of ICT by educators andlearnersTeachers and faculty stated the following as challengesor barriers to ICT use by educators:• Limited number of computers available in theschools and computer labs• Unreliable power supply,• Network related challenges - lack of connectivity,frequent internet breakdown/disruptions,high down-time of equipment,• Frequent breakdown of computers• Lack of interest from some of the students inthe use of the computers in the teaching-learningprocess. This is due to the fact that twoor more students have to share one computerduring lessons.• Poor knowledge in the use of ICT in theteaching-learning process• Lack of Internet connectivity in most of theschools. This makes it impossible to accessinformation on the web.• Lack of resources like LCD projectors and specializedcomputer software for teaching the varioussubjects.• Poor maintenance of the existing machines• Lack of interest of some of the heads ofinstitutions and school management in ICTintegration.• The lack of administrative support and incentivesfor innovative faculty who integrate ICT intotheir instructional activities and for their students’learning.In addition to the above challenges, the studentsreported the following:• poor maintenance of the existing machines;• low speed of PCs and low storage capacity at thepre-tertiary levels,• limited access time, lab not opened at weekendsand after classes,• limited technical support• the inadequacy of the core ICT in meeting students’ICT literacy requirements.ICT use for management andadministration and its impact oneducation management practicesICT use for management and administration purposesis largely for storage of students’ and personnelrecords (student admission and academic records,and personnel records) and preparation of documents.The pre-tertiary institutions use the WestAfrican Examinations Council (WAEC) ExaminationRegistration Software for registering candidatesfor the national and international examinationsadministered by WAEC. The finance offices atthe pre-tertiary level used MS Excel or some otherspreadsheets application for processing and keepingstudents’ financial records. None of the pre-tertiaryinstitutions had a website or official e-mail accountfor communication and dissemination of information.They still relied on letters and telephone forthis purpose.Phase 1 • National Reports • 21

At the pre- tertiary level, the impact of ICT onadministration was restricted in part by the limitedICT knowledge and skills of school administratorsand managers. However, the responses from theseadministrators showed that schools are movingaway from hardcopy file system to computer-basedprocessing and storing of data and information,particularly with regards to students’ admission,academic records, fees, and personnel records.At the tertiary level, ICT is employed in carrying outmost administrative tasks. But the biggest impactof ICT use for management has been on processingstudents’ academic records. At the UEW, facultiesenter examination scores online using the students’online information management system, which isused in processing the students’ grades. This hastremendously reduced computational errors in students’results and grades.Gender equity in access to ICT, ICT usageand access to ICT training opportunitiesIn Ghana, and many African countries, it appearsICT use is a male dominated job and someICT relates jobs that were initially occupied bywomen have been taken over by men. Sincewomen’s limited access to ICT would certainlyresult in negative educational and economicoutcomes, a major concern of this study is toexamine ICT and gender related issues. Thisis because the little research that exists in sub-Saharan Africa focus on the barriers to women’saccess and use of ICT but does not explore thenature of the women’s ICT expertise and usage(University of Montreal, 2006).At both the tertiary and the pre-tertiary levelsmale educators and learners in each institutionoutnumber the females. Overall, about 25%or less of the educators in the institutions arefemales, while about 40% or less of the learnersare females. Generally, it was observed that thepeople in charge of the computer labs and informationprocessing rooms in the institutions’ administrationwere all men. Women were rarelyassigned ICT monitoring or teaching duties.Though no differences were observed at thepre-tertiary level in the amount of time maleand female learners use of ICT for academicpurposes, a wide proportional gap of 0.56 wasobserved for learners at the tertiary level. Thatis, at the tertiary level (i.e. UEW), the averageICT usage (hours per week) for academicpurposes among the males learners was abouttwice that of the females (average of 19 hoursper week for female and 34 hours per week formale).For the educators, not much difference wasobserved in the amount of time male and femalelearners use ICT for academic purposesat the pre-tertiary level, since the technology isgenerally not being used across the curriculum.However, at the tertiary level, male educatorsaverage ICT usage (hours per week) for academicpurposes was three times that of the femaleeducators (average of 8 hours per week forfemale and 24 hours per week for male). At thepre-tertiary level, very few (i.e. under 5%) of thefemale educators had participated in continuingprofessional development activities that did notexceed 50 hours and included ICT integration.None of the female educators reported to haveparticipated in continuing professional developmentactivities that exceeded 50 hours andincluded ICT integration. This means, that theGES has a lot to do at the pre-tertiary level toensure gender equity in ICT usage and integrationacross the curriculum.At the tertiary level, almost all the female educatorsreported to have participated in continuingprofessional development activities that did notexceed 50 hours and included ICT integration,but none for continuing professional developmentactivities beyond 50 hours. This meansthat even at the tertiary level, there is still a lotto be done to empower educators for effectiveICT integration across the curriculum.22 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

Initial National Dialogue Workshop Held in the Ministry of Education ConferenceRoom, Accra on April 15, 2009Stakeholders in attendanceStakeholders Number Present1. Active members of the PanAf Observatory national research team 32. High level members of the team, such as the focal point or director of4the partner institution3. Managers from the 5 schools participating in the study 44. Education ministry representatives (involved in ICT integration in6curriculum and pedagogy)5. ICT ministry (or Telecommunications / Industry) representatives 26. Educators / their representatives engaged and invested in the3pedagogical integration of ICTs7. Civil society representatives (local and international NGOs active in10ICT4ED)8. Private sector representatives (local and international ICT companies2and funders)Total 34Objectives for WorkshopThe workshop was aimed at affording stakeholdersan opportunity to• Share the National Report and communicatespecific recommendation for changes to policyand practice identified by the research teamthrough analysis of data collected on the PanAfObservatory during Phase 1 of the project• Examine the specific recommendations raised inthe research particularly relevant to the nationalcontext• Identify challenges and successes in Phase 1• Identify and discuss specific objectives for continueddialogue with decision-makers.Recommendation from VariousStakeholdersThe national workshop looked the research reportin two panel groups and came out with thefollowing recommendations and suggestions forphase 2 of the project:Ministry of Education (MOE)• By requiring integration of ICT in teaching andlearning, schools and Distance Education Centerswill need to acquire, maintain and sustaintheir ICT facilities and resources. The Ministryof Education should make budgetary allocationsannually to maintain, replace, and expand ICTfacilities and resources in the schools.• At the university level, students ICT user feesand GET Fund should be maintained as the mainsource of funding for ICT projects. Besides, theuniversity should source funding from donors tosupport its ICT initiative.Phase 1 • National Reports • 23

• Software for processing students’ examinationresults, teaching, learning, assessment, andmonitoring students’ performance should be purchasedfor use at the various levels of pre-tertiaryeducation. Interactive tutorials on TechnologyProfessional Development (TPD) for teacherswould help them to acquire the essential skillsand knowledge for integrating ICT in their instructions.• A scheme should be put in place to encourageteachers to acquire their own computers. Thereshould be a collaboration between Ministry ofEducation and Ministry of Communication toassist teachers to acquire these computers andtheir accessories• Pre-tertiary institutions should be given adequateresources and encouraged to organize schoolbasedin-service training in ICT usage.• Ghana Education Service (GES) should establisha reward system for rewarding innovative teacherswho use ICT for teaching and learning.Curriculum Research and DevelopmentDivision (CRDD)CRDD representative reported that the new does notonly introduce ICT as core and elective courses, buthas embedded ICT integration in all the other subjectareas. The workshop agreed that the problem on theground is that most of the ICT instructors are nottrained teachers, and therefore lack the necessarypedagogical skills and knowledge. Such teachersteach basic computer skills and literacy with littleapplications. The issue is thus not a curricular one,but more of lack of appropriate ICT integrationtraining and pedagogical alignments. Even thoughthere is rhetoric about the integration of ICTs inthe introductory part of the syllabuses, the waysthat these tools could be integrated into teachingand learning were not stated in the content of thesyllabuses.Teacher Education Division (TED)• Need to review ICT programmes of the teachereducation institutions to enable prospective teachersto develop ICT integration skill.• Tertiary Teacher Education (colleges of Educationand UEW) programmes should include atleast one course taken via the online mode todevelop the teachers’ capacity to use ICT toolsDiscussion Group observed that teaching online isa long term dream, because as at now ICT infrastructurein Ghanaian schools is weak, particularlyInternet connectivity is unreliable and expensive,educators’ ICT skills and knowledge are low, andno Course Management Systems are available inalmost all colleges and universities.Schools• Managers of institutions should endeavour toencourage their staff to attend in-service trainingin ICT integration.• Past students associations, NGOs and PTAsshould be encouraged to get more actively involvedin supporting schools in setting up computerlabs and increasing the number of computers andaccessories• Government/Ministry of Education/GhanaEducation Service should be the main sourceof funding for institutional ICT infrastructure,facilities and resourcesGroup 2Recommended Objectives for Phase 2 of the ProjectThe group made the following recommendationsfor consideration as objectives for theproject phase 2, which were endorsed by participants:• Find means and strategies of supporting heads ofinstitution in addressing the identified challengesin phase 1• Set the technology competence standards andbenchmarks for teachers and learners24 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

• Identify software packages that can be adoptedfor the teaching of the core subjects (Mathematics,Languages, Integrated Science, and SocialStudies) at all levels• Design and develop model lessons that use appropriatemodern instructional strategies, whichmeet the diverse learning styles and needs ofdigital learners (Project-Based Learning or PBL,Inquiry-Based Learning or IBL, ConnectedLearning, and Authentic Assessment Modelscould be adopted in a student-centered learningenvironment)ConclusionThe ratio of students (and educators) to computersper institution was found to be very high. At theSHS level there was an average of about 30 studentsto a computer and 50 students to a computer at thetertiary level. Similarly, at the SHS level there wasan average of about 3 educators to a computer and 1educator to a computer at the tertiary level. In viewof the limited ICT facilities that were available inthe institutions and the fact that in most subjects teachersdo not use ICT in their instructional activities,the managers, educators and learners involved in thestudy could not say much about the impact of ICTapplications on work in the various institutions. Thatis, very little evidence was available to concludeon improvements in administration, classroompractice and students’ academic outcomes due tothe use of ICT.RecommendationsMinistry of Education (MOE)• By requiring integration of ICT in teaching andlearning, schools will need to acquire, maintainand sustain their ICT facilities and resources. TheMinistry of Education should make budgetaryallocations annually to maintain, replace, andexpand ICT facilities and resources in the schools.• At the university level, students ICT user feesand GETFund should be maintained as the mainsource of funding for ICT projects. Besides, theuniversity should source funding from donors tosupport its ICT initiative.• Software for processing students’ examinationresults should be purchases for use at the variouslevels of pre-tertiary education• A scheme should be put in place to encourageteachers to acquire their own computers• Pre-tertiary institutions should be given adequateresources and encouraged to organize schoolbasedin-service training in ICT usage.Curriculum Research and Development Division (CRDD)• There is a need to review the core ICT curriculumin pre tertiary education to make it morefunctional• There is a need to review all pre tertiary educationprogrammes in a manner that will enableteachers to integrate ICT in their instructionaldelivery• There is a need to introduce into School-BasedAssessment (SBA) the use of ICT to produce atleast one assignment using computer applicationsoftware.Teacher Education Division (TED)• Need to review ICT programmes of the teachereducation institutions to enable prospectiveteachers to develop ICT integration skill.Phase 1 • National Reports • 25

• Pre-service programmes should include atleast one course taken via the online mode todevelop the teachers’ capacity to use ICT toolsSchools• Managers of institutions to should ensure theyorganize school-based in-service training in ICTusage for their staff.• Past students associations, NGOs and PTAsshould be encouraged to get more actively involvedin supporting schools in setting up computerlabs and increasing the number of computers andaccessoriesReferencesCRDD - Curriculum Research and Development Division(2007a) Teaching Syllabus for Information andCommunications Technology (Core): Senior HighSchool. Accra: Ministry of Education Science andSports.CRDD - Curriculum Research and Development Division(2007b) Teaching Syllabus for Information andCommunications Technology (Core): Junior HighSchool. Accra: Ministry of Education Science andSports.CRDD - Curriculum Research and Development Division(2007c) Teaching Syllabus for Informationand Communications Technology (Core): PrimarySchool. Accra: Ministry of Education Science andSports.Government of Ghana. (1995). Ghana Vision 2020:The first step 1996-2000. Accra, Ghana: GhanaPublishing Corporation.Ministry of Education -MOE (2009). Report on e-ReadinessAssessment of Second Cycle Institutions inGhana. Accra: ICT in Education Programmes Unit,Ministry of EducationRepublic of Ghana. (2003). The Ghana ICT for accelerateddevelopment (ICT4AD) policy. Accra, Ghana:Graphic Communications Group Limited.United Nations ICT Task Force (2003). Informationand Communications Technologies for AfricanDevelopment and Assessment of Progress and theChallenges Ahead (edited with Introduction by JosephO. Okpaku, Sr). Accra: Ministry of EducationScience and Sports.University of Montreal, (2006). Pan-African ResearchAgenda on the Pedagogical Integration Of ICT.Montreal University of Montreal26 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1

AppendixExisting ICT facilities and resourcesTable 2 and 3 shows the results of the survey on existing ICT facilities and resources in the institutionsinvolved in the study.Table 2Number and types of computers available and software installedInstitutionNumber ofComputerLabsNumber ofComputers forlearnersType ofComputersAsuansi 1 23 P2 & P3 mixedrefurbishedAyirebi 1 25 P2 & P3refurbishedSoftware Installed• Microsoft Office Suite (2003 and 2007)• AutoCad MS Encarta• CoralDraw Photoshop• Mavis Beacon Typing Software• Microsoft Office Suite and• EncartaObrahire 1 35 P2 refurbished • Microsoft Office Suite (largely MS Word andlittle MS Excel),• Coral Draw, and AutoCADTamale 2 64 P2 refurbished • Microsoft Office Suite (Word processing: Word,Spreadsheet: Excel, database managementsystem: Access, presentation: PowerPoint),• Mavis Beacon typing software,• Encarta encyclopedia,UEW,Winneba10 of which 6are networked500 P4 multimedia • Microsoft office suite (Word, Excel, andPowerPoint),• AutoCAD,• Multimedia editing software, courseware andauthorware,• Online student information system software,• Subject specific software for courses in somedepartments: e.g. Mathematics Departmentuses Maple, MatLab, Derive 6; ScienceDepartment uses. The COACH for physics, etc.;Music Department usedPhase 1 • National Reports • 27

Table 3Internet connectivity, students to computer ratio and educators to computer ratioInstitution Internet connectivity Other resourcesAsuansiAyirebiObrahireTamaleUEW, WinnebaStudent tocomputer rationo • nil 34:1(64/19)no • nil 8:1(200/25)no • nil 23:1(810/35)Yes, only 4 computers • nil 28:1Yes, in most labs and offices • Printers inoffices,• digital projectorsin labs anddepartments,• scanners and/orphotocopiers.(1794/64)46:1(24982/500)Educators to computerratio3:1(60/23)1:1(14/25)6:1((32/5)1:1(85/64)1:1(322/400)Table 3Ghana-Country ICT Development Indices (IDI)RankICT-Price Value (%GNI per Capita)Fixed Value (% GNIper Capita)ICT Price Basket 2008Mobile Value (% GNIper Capita)Broadband Value(% GNI per Capita)125 40.5 9.5 12.0 131.0 590GNI PER capita(USD)ICT Development Index (IDI) 2007 (2002)RankIndex114 (122) 1.63 (1.10)IDI Access Index 2007 (2002)123 (148) 1.72 (.82)IDI Use Index 2007 (2002)124 (122) .13 (.03)IDI Skills Index 2007 (2002)117 (119) 4.48 (3.82)Source: ITU (2009). ICT Development Index: Measuring the Information Society28 • Rapports nationaux de la Phase 1