ICT readiness of secondary school teachers: Mongolian case study

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) can be effectively used in education and training to improve the quality of classroom learning, to encourage student creativity, to expand student collaboration and to introduce innovation to education rather than as a tool for delivering learning content. This document aims to determine and evaluate the ICT readiness of teachers at secondary education schools in Mongolia. One thousand nine hundred seventeen teachers from more than 150 secondary schools participated in the survey. This study aimed to evaluate five skills of teachers: (1) the assessment of teachers’ ICT application competence, (2) the review of ICT competencies in teaching and learning, (3) the duration of ICT usage in lessons, (4) classroom setup, and (5) the use of ICT to support the learning of children with disabilities. An online survey was conducted using the UNESCO ICT readiness survey questionnaire. In this questionnaire, subject matters such as the teacher’s general information; the use of ICT in education; the school’s ICT infrastructure; ICT at the level of education policy; teachers’ ICT skills; ICT used in teaching-learning; organization and management; and teachers’ professional skills were included. A total of 1,917 teachers attended the survey, about 7% of the total number of secondary school teachers in Mongolia. Of these, 32 percent (608 teachers) were aimag center schools, 0. 2 percent (5 teachers) were teachers, 42 percent (809 teachers) were the capital city and 26 percent (495 teachers) were soum teachers. The research shows that secondary school teachers are ready to use ICT daily. Teachers are interested in improving their technology, ICT-related pedagogical knowledge, and skills to effectively use ICT and digital technologies in their teaching and learning activities. Therefore, acquiring the knowledge and skills to implement ICT in the curriculum in teacher training and teacher professional development programs is necessary.