Research

Use of ICT

Use of ICT

This project aims to raise the competence and confidence of teachers in using Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning.

We have worked with primary and secondary school teachers in Rwanda to develop strategies and resources to support them in using the computers and software already in their schools to enhance the teaching and learning of science and mathematics.

In related research we have also assessed the potential of the NEPAD e-school initiative in promoting community health and poverty reduction in Kenya and Rwanda.

Research and key findings

Teachers from ten secondary schools and two primary schools across Rwanda have been involved in the main research. Through a school-based approach to professional development, they have been involved in collaborative enquiries into how they use ICT to support their subject teaching. The project has provided them with support through a series of workshops and school visits by staff from the Kigali Institute of Education and others from the UK and Chile.

Key findings on availability and use of ICT

  • Some Rwandan schools have only the basic government minimum allocation of computers, but many have successfully extended provision well beyond this baseline.
  • The research has challenged techno-centrism - the belief that providing equipment will in and of itself always result in it being used effectively.
  • Teachers can quickly become confident in using ICT with relatively small amounts of external support, if this is provided sensitively and over time.
  • Schools face competing demands on the use of ICT between classroom and administrative use.
  • While the availability of ICTs in the community - whether at home or in internet cafés - has facilitated their out-of-school use, especially in urban areas, evidence suggests such use exacerbates gender differences as well as a rural and urban divide.

Lead contact details

Evariste Karangwa, Kigali Institute of Education, karangwa27@yahoo.co.uk

Publications

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Research team

Kigali Institute of Education, Rwanda

  • Evariste Karangwa
  • Jolly Rubagiza
  • Alphonse Uworwabayeho
  • Ali Kaleeba

Other institutions

  • Paul Denley, University of Bath, UK
  • Rosamund Sutherland, University of Bristol, UK
  • Enrique Hinostroza, Universidad de la Frontera, Chile
  • Gerardo Moenne, Universidad de la Frontera, Chile