Computerised school information systems usage in an emerging country - Uganda

Abstract

This paper describes an exploratory study on the usage of computerised school information systems (CISs) in the administration and management of the biggest secondary schools in Uganda. The field of information technology in educational management (ITEM) has been mostly confined to the developed countries that its potential in the developing countries in regard to its usage and implications on the schools that use it has not been studied (Bisaso, 2003). The literature reveals that developing countries are lagging behind in the use of CISs partly because of the resource constraints in skilled expertise, finance, and computer equipment (Visscher, 2001). But this magnitude of inferiority in school administrative computing has not been proven hence this study. The results of this exploratory study reveal that the CISs in Uganda are mainly used for clerical purposes while managerial usage by school managers is very limited. Relevant factors relating to the effective use of the CISs are identified. Users are generally positive on the effects of CISs use. It is concluded that wider and better CIS usage would be promoted by carefully designed user training grounded on a thorough analysis of the needs of the user group. Moreover, the support of the systems administrator is considered vital as a catalyst of CIS usage. A comparative summary with earlier studies in the developed countries is made. © 2005 by International Federation for Information Processing.