Limitations and Implications of a Study on the Use of Information and Technology (ICT) in Al-Ula Schools (Published)
This paper outlines the limitations and implications of a study on information and communication technology (ICT) in Al-Ula schools. In terms of limitations, the study was conducted using data only from urban, all-male schools in the Al-Ula district in Saudi Arabia, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to all-female or coed, countries other than Saudi Arabia and to rural schools. In addition, interview data was collected by telephone. Telephone interviews did not allow the researcher to notice the facial expressions and body language of participants as they gave their responses, and student perspectives were not included. The study demonstrated the importance of multiple factors that contribute to the ICT implementation process, including ensuring that appropriate technology is available, that staff are properly trained on its usage, that there is clear support for ICT at the national level, and that there is a strategic plan in place for its implementation. Potential avenues for research include a focus on all-female or co-ed schools, an emphasis schools undergoing an intentional change implementation process, inclusion of student perspectives, and more study on the pedagogical uses of ICT in Saudi Arabia.
Keywords: E-learning, change implementation processes, education in Saudi Arabia, information and communication technology (ICT)., professional development for teachers
Staff Attitudes as an Indicator of Change Readiness: A Case of a Higher Education Institution Adopting ICT in Students’ Record Management (Published)
This paper is a product of research that sought to evaluate the attitudes portrayed by staff in higher education administration in an effort to adopt ICT for students’ record keeping. With an endeavour to bring an understanding of change management in the context of an institution of higher learning, knowledge of the level of staff readiness for the change is important. Staff attitudes were evaluated in this paper because they are considered an important indicator of change readiness. The change under focus is adoption of a Student Information System (SIS) at an Institution of higher learning, Africa International University (AIU) and the results could relate to other institutions. The study involved university staff members who were in either management of course registration, grades information or both for the academic year 2011/2012. Mixed methods were used involving qualitative data, collected through pre-study interviews and quantitative data in the actual study. Data were collected in three phases, first was by face-to-face semi-structured interviews in a preliminary study with 2 members of the University’s Management Committee, and second was pre-study with 6 representatives of local best practices in records management (USIU and Strathmore University). Descriptive data for the actual study with AIU staff members were collected using a questionnaire which mainly collected quantitative data but also had room for open-ended questions. Evaluative Research design was adopted for the study, where descriptive data from AIU staff were placed in comparison with the pre-set criteria from the best practice institutions. Judgment was then made to determine the level of change readiness among the staff members at AIU based on prevailing attitudes to adopt a SIS in management of students’ academic records. The threshold for readiness was set at 67%. The entire study evaluated 5 indicators of change readiness, and only one, (staff attitudes) which is the focus of this paper met the set threshold to indicate change readiness towards the use of a SIS in records management.
Keywords: Attitudes, Change Management, Information Systems, Records Management, information and communication technology (ICT).