Assessment of Tutors’ Level of ICT Competencies in Teaching in Teacher Education in Tanzania

Abstract

This study assessed tutors’ level of ICT competencies and factors that influenced application of ICT-pedagogical competencies in teaching in two Teachers’ Colleges. It adopted the level of ICT competencies from the UNESCO ICT-Competence Framework for Teachers. A self-rating questionnaire was used to collect numeric data involving 70 tutors. Two Focus group Interviews involving eight (8) participants in each college among the 70 respondents were used to collect qualitative data. Mean scores and independent sample t-test were used to compare respondents’ level of ICT competencies. Standard multiple regression was used to evaluate the contribution of factors in predicting ICT-pedagogical competencies. The findings revealed that knowledge acquisition was high, which signifies confidence in basic ICT skills. Knowledge deepening was low, which signifies low application of ICT-pedagogical competencies in teaching across subjects. Regression results revealed that practice had a positive unique influence in predicting tutors’ competencies in knowledge deepening. These findings suggest that tutors need more hands-on training in applying ICT-pedagogical competencies in their classroom practice.