VOLUME NO. 2 (2012), ISSUE NO. 11 (NOVEMBER) ISSN 2231-1009 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN COMPUTER APPLICATION & MANAGEMENT A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed (Refereed/Juried) Open Access International e-Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories http://ijrcm.org.in/ 14 DETERMINANTS OF BASIC SCHOOL TEACHERS’ LEVEL OF COMPUTER LITERACY IN GHANA PAUL DELA AHIATROGAH SR. LECTURER CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST GHANA ELISHA D’ARCHIMEDES ARMAH LECTURER DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER STUDIES CAPE COAST POLYTECHNIC CAPE COAST ABSTRACT Computer literacy is very important in every aspect of life and its role in education is increasingly becoming more crucial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender, subject specialization, teaching experience, and school status on basic school teachers’ level of computer literacy in Ghana. The sample of the study covered 30 basic schools (20 public schools and 10 private schools) in Jomoro District in the western region of Ghana. In all 105 teachers participated in the study. An instrument structured on a 4 point likert scale and which yielded reliability coefficients of 0.944 was used to collect data. The study showed that statistically significant differences exist between males and females in their familiarity with some types of Information Communication Technology. More male teachers than female teachers were familiar with Hard disk, RAM, CD-ROM, Monitor, Sound Card, and Joystick. The study also showed that teacher’s major subject area and the teaching experience had no effect on their familiarity with Information Communication Technology. Finally, the study also revealed that Public and Private school teachers did not differ significantly in their familiarity with Information Communication Technology. It is recommended that more attention should be paid to Information Communication Technology in the initial teacher training programme in Ghana. The colleges of education must be well equipped with Information Communication Technology facilities so that they can train teachers with good knowledge in Information Communication Technology for our basic schools. KEYWORDS Computer literacy level, gender, subject specialization, teaching experience, school status. INTRODUCTION t is generally accepted that the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education can bring about positive changes to the society because computers offer exciting approaches to teaching, which was not even dreamed of two decades ago. However, the extent to which the educational potential of computer technology will be realized depends, to a very large extent, on teachers. The use of computers can turn teaching and learning around and bring about advances that would improve education dramatically. Computer literate individuals will reap greater benefits than their counterparts who lack that knowledge. To promote computer literacy of teachers, governments need to invest considerably in the training of teachers. To evaluate the impact of these investments and thereby help ensure that the intended results are achieved, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy of teachers should be measured periodically. Jay (1981) insisted on the need for personal education in computer technology, and promoting computer literacy for both learners and instructors. The need for personal education in computer technology and the need to promote computer literacy for both learners and instructors within educational institutions is, therefore, very crucial. However, there has been little information related to teachers’ level of literacy in basic computer operations and the extent to which variables such as gender, public and private school teachers’ level of literacy in computer technology, teachers’ major subject area, and years of teaching experience, either jointly or individually predict the basic school teachers’ level of computer literacy. It has become important to provide information along this line in order to be able to make recommendations that will promote computer literacy among teachers in Ghana. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The diffusion of innovations theory provides the framework for this study. It is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. The diffusion process can be defined as “the spread of a new idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users or adopters” (Rogers, 1962, p. 13). According to Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) cited in Jenkins (2009), there are five categories into which adopters fall based upon their innovativeness: laggards, late majority, early majority, early adopters, and innovators. The positions of the five areas of innovativeness are arranged on a bell curve. According to Rogers (1962), the adoption of an innovation requires a decision by an individual. Individuals must begin using a new idea and allow it to replace the previous idea they were using. The diffusion of innovations theory can be linked back to teachers’ computer literacy, access to and use of technology. Certain indicators emerge to indicate shifts between the five categories of adoption when we analyze prior research related to technology. Daulton (1997) found that in a matter of ten years (1983 to 1993) FCS teachers’ technology adoption rates increased from 5% to 83%. This increase shows that as technology became more common in the school setting, teachers moved from the late majority category to the early adopter category. On the strength of this we can say that teachers have the desire to incorporate technology into the classroom (early adopter) but face challenges in acquiring knowledge to do so. The precise definition of "computer literacy" can vary from group to group. For instance, an experienced computer professional may consider one’s ability to do self tuition new programs or tasks to be central to computer literacy. In common discourse, however, "computer literate" often connotes little more than the ability to use several very specific applications for certain very well-defined simple tasks, largely by rote. Real problems can arise when such a "computer literate" person encounters a new program for the first time, and a high degree of "hand-holding" is required. Mason and McMorrow (2006) suggested two distinct components to computer literacy: awareness and competence. Awareness requires that a person has understanding of how computers impact their day-to-day life as well as that of the larger society. Competence expects a person to be able to exhibit a hands-on expertise with a software application. Both of these components should be evaluated when looking at computer literacy within the classroom setting. Some of the most basic computer literacy skills include using word processor, email, mailing lists, and the World Wide Web (Manley, et al., 2000). Computer literacy is even thought to be as important as writing, reading, and mathematics in the school setting; as children in today’s society have never experienced schools without computers (Croxall & Cummings, 2000). These skills are essential in today’s school systems as more tasks are completed using computer technologies. I