The influence of infrastructure, training, content and communication on the success of NEPAD’S pilot e-Schools in Kenya

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the contribution of four of the seven e-School dimensions to the success of the pilot phase of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) e-School project in Kenya. The study employed survey research methodology. All six of the NEPAD e-Schools in Kenya were included and the teachers and students in those schools formed the study population. Of the 5,186 students and teachers, a representative sample of 1,508 was selected using probabilistic techniques. Data was collected using observations and a survey questionnaire. It was established that all six of the e-Schools had installed the basic computing facilities required for integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning; all the e-Schools were observed to have the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) for Internet access in computer laboratories where a variable number of computers were installed. The ICT infrastructure provided modest communication capabilities. But while teachers received technical (ICT) training, they did not receive training on pedagogies for ICT integration in teaching and learning. We conducted hypothesis testing and confirmed that the four dimensions of E-School Success Model, investigated in the current study, positively contribute towards the success of the e-School. We therefore concluded that ICT infrastructure quality, content and communication quality, training effectiveness and use make considerable contributions to the success of the pilot phase of the NEPAD e-School project in Kenya. We recommend that stakeholders should continue investing in the NEPAD e-School project. Further studies on the impact of the other three dimensions of the e-Schools are recommended.