Information and Knowledge Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online) Vol.8, No.6, 2018 12 Factors Influencing Principals’ Leadership for ICT Integration in Public Secondary Schools Management in Bungoma County, Kenya Anne N. Kukali 1* Marcellus Kawasonga 1 Joseph Rabari 2 1. Department of Educational Management and Foundations, Maseno University, Kenya 2. Department of Educational Communication, Technology and Curriculum Studies, Maseno University, Kenya Abstract In this 21 st century, there is global recognition of integrating Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a contemporary tool for best management practices. The Kenya government ICT Policy and strategy (2006) encourages ICT integration in school management for quality service delivery. The government further entered into partnership with development agencies and private organizations to promote ICT integration. By so doing, the government had at heart school principals to exact their leadership overseeing successful integration. However, despite the efforts, progress has been short of expectations. For instance in Kajiado County, 51% of teachers lacked Internet accessibility, 55% lacked administrative support for professional development in ICT while in Kakamega County, 61.9% of schools lacked ICT technical support and 57.1% had inadequately trained staff in ICT use. In Bungoma County, over 75% of public secondary schools have 1-10 computers and 25% have 11-40 and electricity installed. Even with this ICT infrastructure, principals’ hardly integrated ICT in management due to deficits in operational budgets which raised questions on principals’ leadership as key players in ICT integration hence the need for this study. This paper sought to determine factors influencing principals’ leadership for ICT integration in PSSM in Bungoma County, Kenya. This study adopted Hasan (1998) Activity Theory which states that whole work activity is broken into three parts namely subject, tool and object. Descriptive survey research design was employed. The study population comprised of 272 Principals and 272 Deputy Principals (DPs) and 272 Director of Studies (DOS) Saturated sampling technique was utilized to select 245 DPs while simple random sampling technique was utilized to select 82 principals and 123 DOS. Data collection instruments were Interview Schedule, Questionnaire, Observation Checklist and Document Analysis Guide. Validity was ascertained by revising the instruments based on feedback from experts in the School of Education, Maseno University. A test re-test method was used and Cronbach alpha (α) reliabilities of the instruments which were above 0.70 threshold was therefore acceptable. Mixed methods approach was used in data collection and analysis. The study revealed that 62.2% of the respondents cited finance and administrative support and 64.6% cited attitude as factors influencing principals’ leadership for ICT integration in PSSM. It was concluded that financial and administrative support was inadequate. The study recommended that MOE should increase its budgetary allocation and mount an in-service program on principals’ leadership to enhance ICT integration skills. Keywords: Factors, Influencing Principals’ Leadership, ICT, Integration 1. Introduction The development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has come a long way with varying onsets on the global scene. According to Clark and Mayer (2003), computers made first appearance in schools in North Africa mainly for management back in late 1960s. Three decades later, ICT integration in management in various sectors gained a rapid growth based on its power to transform environments. However, the Millennium Development Goals Report (MDG, 2010) sounds a cautionary observation that there exists great variability in ICT integration between developed and developing countries. In agreement, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO, 2011 citing Kozma, et al, 2004) indicated that schools in developing countries are prone to more barriers in ICT use than developed. For instance, barriers in South America and Africa schools included inaccessibility to functional computers and Internet, lack of software, technical and administrative support, inadequate training for teachers and unreliable electricity supply. Similarly, UNESCO (2014) indicated that electricity is a major obstacle to ICT integration in education in India and several underdeveloped countries like Nepal and Cambodia where only 24% and 7% of secondary schools respectively had electricity. Conversely, in Malaysia and Armenia, all schools have electricity as a pre-requisite for ICT integration. Singh and Muniandi (2012) observed that government’s role in funding ICT in schools was found to be minimal. The study findings revealed that schools yet to integrate ICT in administrative activities lacked ICT infrastructure and adequate technical support. Since ICT integration is dependent upon principals’ leadership to provide or receive administrative support for teacher professional development and resource acquisition among others, inadequacy and or total lack certainly constrain principals in the realization of Total Cost Ownership