Information and Communication Technology Acceptance in Education: A Study of Pre-service Teachers in Ghana

This thesis employed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to empirically explore factors influencing acceptance and integration of Information and Communication Technology as a tool for teaching and learning in pre-service teacher education in Ghana. This purpose was accomplished by extending the original technology acceptance model by adding six exogenous variables. Although, there have been few studies on the use of ICT in the Ghanaian education context, no studies have been done on this topic specifically on pre-service teachers offering a 3-year Diploma in Basic Education in Colleges of Education in Ghana. The study adopted mixed methods where first, a survey was conducted among 380 respondents studying a 3-year Diploma in Education programme in two colleges of education in Ghana. This was followed by interviews and observations among a number of teacher educators and pre-service teachers to collect additional qualitative data to triangulate with the quantitative results. Empirical results obtained employing multiple step-wise regression analysis showed that all the eleven hypotheses tested were statistically supported by the data with the exception of hypothesis seven. Together, perceived usefulness, attitude towards use, leadership support and technological complexity explained 58 percent of the variance in actual use of ICT by the pre-service teachers. Attitude towards use, perceived usefulness, technological complexity and leadership support had direct and positive effect on the pre-service actual use of ICT. Among these constructs, technological complexity which is an exogenous factor was found to be the most dominant determinant. Contrary to the results of the prominent prior TAM studies, statistically, perceived ease of use had no significant influence on perceived usefulness. Altogether, LS, TC, PU and ATU were able to explain 58% of the variance observed in the users’ actual use of ICT. Erratic power supply, a lack of technical support and maintenance, poor Internet access, pressure from high-stakes testing and disconnection between the colleges and the practicum schools in the use of ICT were identified as major barriers to ICT integration in both colleges. Potentially, the study found shared-leadership as the most effective leadership approach to effective ICT integration as it brought all stakeholders with a vested interest in ensuring the success as they perceived themselves as partners in a common endeavour. In general, the participants expressed positive attitudes towards ICT and acknowledged it as a pre-requisite for teaching and learning in the 21st century. However, it was observed that majority of them were not competent in using the technology for pedagogical purposes. The findings of this empirical research will serve as a useful practical guide to the policy-makers and practitioners about how to increase the use of the new technologies in teaching and learning within the Ghanaian pre-service teacher education in particular and developing world in general