A descriptive study of information and communication technology usage in secondary schools in Petaling Jaya area

Abstract

Drawing on the experiences from both local and foreign ICT implementation in schools programmes, this study considers the effectiveness of approaches and suggests some of the learning needed if we are to ensure that future strategies are a success in implementing ICT in Malaysia schools. The questions addressed in this study include: (1) what is the level of awareness, technology availability and information communication technology usage by the secondary school management? (2) What is the level of competency, awareness, and technology availability and information communication technology usage by the secondary school teachers? This study included a survey of eight (8) secondary schools randomly chosen from the total of fifty seven (57) secondary schools in Petaling Jaya area. The survey instrument contained questions designed to identify the awareness of the technology, technology viability in term of hardware and communication infrastructure setup and also the technology usage by the management and also teachers. The conclusion drawn from this study was that the information and communication technology awareness is high and are well appreciated, but the extent of technology usage and competency, and availability of the technology within secondary schools in Petaling Jaya area is lower than the expected level, this provides a basis for future studies.