AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTENT OF ICT INTEGRATION IN FOUR ZAMBIAN UNIVERSITIES AND ITS IMPACT ON QUALITY ENHANCEMENT IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS

The high demand for higher education (HE) in Zambia created by the increased youthful population, alongside the deteriorating HE infrastructure and learning facilities due to reduced budgets, obliges Zambia to turn to ICT integration to improve teaching and learning. This research determined the extent of ICT integration in four Zambian universities and its effect on enhancing pedagogy. The study explored the ICT investments trends in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) between 2011 and 2013; it determined the ICT technology installed; whether lecturers use ICTs in teaching and learning; and identified the lecturers’ ICT knowledge and skills and any enablers and barriers to ICT usage. The research used case study method: questionnaires, interviews and documentation from the HEIs websites. Population data was gathered from a sample of faculty and senior administrators, policy and HEIs strategic documents. The results show that: ICT investment greatly increased during the period; the national policy, regulatory framework and institutional strategies to support ICT integration exist; and there are sufficient hardware devices, communication infrastructure and adequate software. The lecturers’ interests, attitudes, perceptions and beliefs are conducive to technology adoption. However, no ICT implementation framework was found in any of the universities. The majority of lecturers mainly used standard software and the internet, while a few used software that supports teaching and learning. This was due to lecturers’ unawareness of the existence of ICTs that support pedagogy, lack of training in instructional technology, and the non-existence of learning technologists to support the lecturers in integrating ICTs in pedagogy. The research recommends establishing ICT implementation targets; employing learning technologists, increasing lecturer ICT awareness and skills; equipping ICT learning facilities; linking learning environment to facilitate learning anywhere and anytime; promoting remote content access and local content development; and promoting ICT supported learning in conformity with the principles of best practice in higher education learning. The results from the research inform policy makers, HEI leaders and HE technologists