TEACHERS AND LEARNERS ATTITUDES’ TOWARDS THE USE OF ICTS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING OF WELDING AND FABRICATION AT VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS IN MANDERA COUNTY
TEACHERS AND LEARNERS ATTITUDES’ TOWARDS THE USE OF ICTS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING OF WELDING AND FABRICATION AT VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS IN MANDERA COUNTY
Yakub Mohamed Abdi - School of Education Communication and Technology, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Michael Mchoki Waititu - School of Education Communication and Technology, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Bernard Chumbo Mugo - School of Education Communication and Technology, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The phrase ‘half-baked graduates’ is often mentioned to refer to graduates who do not match the requirements of the industry in terms of technical competence or skills. Institutions including colleges, universities, and vocational centers trusted to offer solutions to the current challenge of women and youths’ unemployment have not yet found the answer to the riddle of matching skills to the industry requirements. Yes, graduates are still leaving universities but they are facing the same challenge of unemployment. Could this be as a result of the kind of training offered in the institutions not being designed on adopting the innovative approaches in teaching and learning of technical courses to offer a solution in the developing economies, Kenya not being an exception. This backdrop offers an opportunity to study the teachers' and learners' attitudes toward the integration of ICTs in the teaching and learning of welding and fabrication in Mandera County. The study was a descriptive one involving learners and instructors in two (2) vocational and training institutions in Mandera county: Mandera vocational center and Takaba vocational center. The population of interest was five (5) technical staff in the institutions, twenty-five (25) instructors, and 133 learners which was a total of 166 staff. A 30% of the population of respondents was desired across the strata and therefore 50 respondents were considered in the study to provide data for the study through questionnaires and interviews. Data for the study was both qualitative and quantitive. The quantitative data was analyzed through frequencies and percentages whereas the qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. The study results were presented on tables as well as narratives. The study found that the learners were happy to use the technologies in learning new concepts in fabrication and welding. The learners also gave their worries that at times the ICTs facilities were either not functional or available during classwork with also little help on how to use the ICTs by the trainers. On the other hand, the trainers revealed that they were more confident while using the ICTs, the instructors also noted that at times they lacked the know-how on the use of some ICTs facilities. Besides, the trainers revealed that they were happier to use the ICTs in teaching fabrication because it enabled them to do more research before teaching in their classroom. The study concluded that through the use of ICTs learning experience had improved with more happy learners, teachers were also more confident in teaching fabrication and welding. Besides both learners and teachers were enthusiastic about teaching and learning while using ICTs. ICTs enabled the learners and the instructors to understand, research more on some topics as well as making subjects easier to grasp. However, the study concluded that there were not enough ICTs facilities to use in the learning of fabrication and welding. Most of the equipments were outdated and also did not get regular maintenance. Besides some of the instructors could not support the learners whenever there was a hurdle in the use of the ICTs.The study recommended for training of trainers in the use of the ICTs to enable them to offer quality training of welding and fabrication using the latest technologies. The study also recommended for the learners to utilize technology to understand complex subjects which are often made easier through the use of the ICTs. Finally, the study recommended for the learning institutions to invest in the acquisition of ICTs that would enhance the quality of instruction and learning in vocational and training centers in Mandera County.
