Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region X Northern Mindanao
DIVISION OF ILIGAN CITY
North II District
Pala o, Iligan City

An Action Research
Conducted in the Division of Iligan City on
ICT SKILLS AND CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS IN ILIGAN CITY

by

ENERIO E. EBISA, PhD

School Principal I

Noted:

JOSE S. BAGUNAS
Public Schools District Supervisor

SHERLITA P. DAGUISUNAN, PhD

Senior Education Program Specialist on Research

Approved:

RANDOLPH B. TORTOLA, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent
Researcher: Enerio E. Ebisa, PhD
Title: ICT Skills and Challenges Encountered by Elementary
Teachers in Iligan City
Division: Iligan City
SBM Principle: Leadership and Governance
Number of Words: One hundred seventy - seven (177)

ABSTRACT

An Information and Communication Technology or ICT skill is

among the 21st century skills teachers should develop in the K to 12
curriculum. This study examined empirically the ICT skills of three
hundred nineteen (319) elementary teachers in Iligan City. These
participants were taken from the seven (7) select central and non-
central schools using purposive sampling to yield feasibility of
results. As a descriptive qualitative method, primary and
secondary data were employed. Teachers socio-demographic
characteristics and ICT experiences were correlated to the eight
software applications usable in the teaching learning processes
such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, emailing, Internet,
navigation, and database. Challenges encountered were also
collated to advance into priority improvement area as basis for
continuous improvement. As such, teachers showed enough
competence on MS Word and database as the least. Some profiles
had bearings on the effects of teachers ICT competence.
Challenges were more on sustainability, progress monitoring, and
further trainings. Therefore, ICT integration and immersion were
recommended to complement ICT skills and strengthen ICT use in
the classroom in all learning areas.

Keywords: ICT skills, software applications, challenges

encountered, trainings
Introduction

There is substantial evidence that in the right hands and used

appropriately for specific purposes in specific contexts, ICT can be

an effective tool in supporting teaching and learning. However, it is

now firmly established that its introduction into schools does not by

itself improve the quality of education or raise attainment.

Encouragingly, there is growing and widespread awareness that the

pedagogical and technical expertise of teachers is absolutely

critical. Effectively, introducing technology into schools is also

largely dependent on the availability and accessibility of ICT

resources.
According to Nuez (2010), technology changes the way

teachers teach. It also enhances the relationship between teacher

and learners. when technology is effectively integrated into the

learning areas, teachers grow into roles of adviser, content expert,

and coach. Technology helps make teaching and learning more

meaningful and fun.

Pelgrum (2002) added that there are many school leaders who

still perceive the lack of ICT skills among teachers as a major

obstacle to realize ICT goals. Literature describes the kind of skills

teachers may need when integrating ICT in the 21st century.

Conversely, identifying which competency teacher needs to acquire

is far from simple as this depends much on the challenges

encountered among teachers in a particular school.

 Teachers characteristics were surfaced out in terms of

gender, age, rank, grade level taught, highest educational

attainment, length of service, availability of computer and Internet

access at home. Also, it established their ICT experiences on years

of computer use and attendance to trainings. ICT skills were

correlated to their socio-demographic profiles and experiences.

Moreover, the challenges encountered were drawn to weigh the

existing condition of the different schools.

Iligan City has several schools which are recipients of the

Adopt-A-School program specifically on ICT provisions. These

equipment have delivered relevant ICT activities to immerse

teachers into the classroom settings. With this, teachers ICT skills

should be evaluated in order to promote literacy among them.

Challenges encountered can advance to other mechanisms to raise

productivity and sustain the ICT skills acquisition of teachers.

Methodology

This study employed descriptive qualitative research using

complete enumeration and purposive sampling. It was conducted in

Iligan City with three hundred nineteen (319) teacher participants.

Different software applications were used to determine teachers ICT

skills. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize

the properties of mass of data collected from the participants. A

General Linear Model (GLM) was utilized to analyze the effects of

the variables taken simple on the ICT competence. The Principal

Component Analysis (PCA) was used to obtain a single numerical

index for ICT competence of each teacher. The PCA results show

that the first eigenvector or principal component represents 67.9%

of the total variance, that is, sufficient to represent all variables that

measure the ICT competence. Themes were generated from the

Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the challenges encountered to

generate the common responses of the participants.

Results and Discussions

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Teachers ( N = 319)

Characteristics Frequency Percent
Gender
Male 28 8.8
Female 291 91.2
Age
Less than 24 years 17 5.3
24 to 29 years 44 13.8
30 to 39 years 83 26.0
40 to 49 years 111 34.8
50 years and above 64 19.1
Grade level taught
Kindergarten 6 1.9
Grade I 55 17.2
Grade II 52 16.3
Grade III 40 12.5
Grade IV 41 12.9
Grade V 51 16.0
Grade VI 52 16.3
Subject teachers 22 6.9
Rank
Teacher I 141 44.2
Teacher II 73 22.9
Teacher III 76 23.8
Master Teacher I 24 7.5
Master Teacher II 5 1.6
Highest Educational level
Bachelors Degree 64 20.1
with some MA/MS units 212 66.5
MA/MS 34 10.7
 with some PhD/Ed.D units 6 1.9
PhD/EdD (full pledged) 3 .9
Number of years in the service
Less than 6 years 70 21.9
6 to 9 years 35 11.0
10 to 19 years 128 40.1
20 years and above 86 27.0
Availability of computer at home
Yes 270 84.6
No 49 15.4
Availability of Internet access
at home
Yes 197 61.7
No 122 38.2

One of the objectives of the study is to describe the

demographic characteristics of teachers. these characteristics are

presented in table 1. From the data, 91.2% of the teachers were

female while only 8.8% were males. Most of them or 34.8%

belonged to 40 49 years age bracket. In terms of rank, 44.2%

occupied Teacher 1 position. Almost equal distribution in grade level

assignment for Grades 1 to 6 was observed where most of the

teachers or 66.5% had some masters units. There were 40.1% who

had 10 to 19 years in the service and availability of computers at

home (84.6%) and Internet access (61.7%) were positively

manifested.

Table 2. ICT Experiences of the Teachers (N=319)

Characteristics Frequen Percent
cy
Number of years of computer experience
Less than 2 years 101 31.7
2 to 6 years 85 26.6
More than 6 years 133 41.7
Attendance to in-service training regarding ICT
Yes 243 76.2
No 76 23.8
Attendance to pre-service training regarding
ICT
Yes 41 12.9
No 278 87.1
Attendance to ICT-related trainings over the
past 3 years
Yes 63 19.7
No 256 80.3
The second aim of this study was to determine the teachers

ICT experiences. Most of them used computers for more than six

years already (41.7%). Almost all of the teachers attended in-service

(76.2%) and pre-service (87.1%) trainings related to ICT. However,

only few of them had attended ICT related trainings over the past

three years (19.7%). This indicates that teachers attended trainings

not related to ICT.

Table 3. Teachers Usage of ICT Applications (N=319)

Application Frequency Percent
MS Word 286 89.7
Email 248 77.7
Internet 240 75.2
MS Excel 215 67.4
MS Powerpoint 190 59.7
Computer File Navigation 164 51.4
Database 94 29.5

Table 3 indicates that most teachers used MS word, email and

Internet as ICT applications. Only 29.5% of them had ever used

database. The result is in consonance with the study of Jegede, et. al

(2007) where teachers were competent on word processing against

other software applications. This implies that teachers used word

processing in preparing handouts, test materials, worksheets in the

classroom, reports, among others.

A survey carried out by Forgasz & Prince (2002) found that

61% of the respondents (teachers) used spreadsheets, 45% used

word processing and 30% used Internet browsers. Teachers need to

continually work at updating their skills and knowledge in the

operation and use of ICT, in addition to their need to be up-to-date

with curriculum content and pedagogy. It is therefore vital that they

are supported in practical and motivating ways.

Table 4. Five-Number Summaries of the Teachers ICT Skills

Application Minimum First Media Third Maximu
Quartil n Quartil m
e e
MS Word 1.0 7.0 13.0 16.0 16.0

MS Excel 0 1.0 2.0 6.3 14.0

MS Powerpoint 1.0 1.0 6.0 13.0 21.0

Email 0 1.0 3.0 6.0 9.0

Internet 0 1.0 3.0 6.0 10.0

Computer file 0 1.0 1.0 4.0 11.0

navigation

Database 0 1.0 1.0 1.0 10.0

ICT competence 0 6.54 11.14 17.76 32.18

index

The distribution of the extent of ICT skills of teachers as

reflected by its five number summary is shown in table 4. The

results show that most teachers were familiar with MS word since

the median score (13.0) is closer to the third quartile score (16.0)
than the first quartile score (7.0) where the third quartile and the

maximum scores are the same. The figures of other applications

suggest that the distribution of teachers ICT knowledge and skills is

skewed to the right. This implies that most teachers had low ICT

skills in MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, email, Internet, navigation, and

database.

The overall ICT competence index of teachers show that they

had generally low ICT competence since the median score (11.14) is

closer to the first quartile score (6.54) than the third quartile score

(17.76), respectively.

Table 5. Level of ICT Competence of Teachers

ICT Competence Index
Low Average High
(<4.83) (4.8317.45) (>17.45)
f % f % f %
ICT Competence 51 16.0 184 57.7 84 26.3

To aid in the description of the wide range of skills and

knowledge of teachers, the ICT competence index has been divided

into three broad groups, as shown in Table 5.c. Approximately

sixteen percent of teachers had low ICT competence index,

approximately 58% had average ICT competence and the remaining

percent had high index (17.45%). More than 50% of the teachers are

already acquainted with the language of Information and

Communication Technology as reflected in their usage to classroom

instruction. The results give an implication that teachers in the

public schools are attuned to the widespread penetration of

 technology of which these technologies have created tremendous

impact in the mainstream of teaching and learning but are not

having enough ICT competence level.

Table 6. Influence of the Demographic Characteristics on ICT

Competence
Variable Coefficien R F p
t square value value
Gender -9.22 0.338 40.80 <0.001
Age -3.00 0.433 73.11 <0.001
Rank -0.14 0.019 0.109 0.741
Number of years in the -3.25 0.457 83.73 <0.001
service
Grade level taught 1.12 0.076 1.42 0.235
Educational level 4.21 0.186 11.35 <0.001
Availability of computer at 3.74 0.174 9.94 <0.002
home
Availability of Internet 2.87 0.180 10.67 <0.001
access at home

All demographic characteristics except rank and grade level

taught had a statistically significant relationship with teachers ICT

competence index. Males were more likely to have higher ICT

competence scores than females. ICT competence scores decreases

as teachers age increases. ICT competence scores decreases as the

duration a teacher has taught in a school increases. Teachers with

advanced degrees had higher ICT competence scores than those

with only bachelors degree. Teachers with computer and Internet at

home were more likely to have higher ICT competence scores than

those without such.

Among these demographic characteristics, number of years in

the service, age and gender exerted greater influence on the ICT
 competence of teachers than the other characteristics as indicated

by the high R square values.

Table 7. Influence of ICT Experience on ICT Competence

Variable Coefficien R F p
t square value value
Number of years of 1.84 0.378 52.85 <0.001
computer experience
Attendance to in-service 3.97 0.219 15.98 <0.001
training regarding ICT
Attendance to pre-service 7.54 0.326 37.78 <0.001
training regarding ICT
Attendance to ICT-related 6.28 0.324 37.10 <0.001
trainings over the past 3
years

Table 7 shows that ICT experience had an effect of a teachers

ICT competence. ICT competence scores increase as a teachers

length Most
of computer
teachersexperience
shared thatincreases.
ICT skills Teachers who attended
varied in terms of uses.
ICT-related trainings
Other teachers saidhad
thatbetter ICT competence
they used than
ICT on social those
media butwithout
not in
attendance
teaching. to such
For trainings.
those who were engaged in technology, the

computers available in schools did not suffice the number of

Theme No. 1. Challenges Encountered by Teachers
learners. Learners had limited access and they were not satisfied

with the learning experiences afforded thereof due to poor Internet

access. Not all learning areas had ICT integration. There were

suggested activities but teachers tried to find other means to track

their teaching pacing. Some computers were not functional. Only

few teachers used computer laboratories in teaching some

concepts but most teachers preferred to stay inside the classroom

and facilitate learning.

In terms of monitoring, the school heads did not consider ICT

integration a high priority but on reading skills. Sustainability of the

program was also among the major challenges they had

encountered. Trainings on ICT integration for them would enhance

their ICT skills. Relevant ICT activities can also develop their skills
Conclusions

Among the demographic characteristics of teachers, rank and

grade level taught were found not significantly related to teachers

ICT competence index. ICT competence scores increase as the

teachers length of computer experience increases. Most of the

teachers were familiar with MS Word thus had low ICT skills in MS

Excel, MS Powerpoint, email, Internet, navigation, and database.

Teachers who were exposed to activities like trainings and the likes

would increase their skills in ICT. Research indicates that, until

recently, training opportunities have remained limited in availability

and inconsistent in quality. This has resulted in demonstrably low

proficiency in using ICT and a general lack of skills about technology

in teaching and learning. These results all boiled down to poor

prioritization in school as reflected on poor maintenance and narrow

implementation of ICT integration.

Recommendations

Teachers should have a leveling off of ICT skills and trainings

should be crafted parallel to the needs of teachers as indicated in

the data analysis. Different software applications should have more

engaging activities for teachers to enhance their ICT skills. The use

of ICT in the classroom should be encouraged by the school

administrators in response to the ICT integration stipulated in the

National Competency-Based Teacher Standards as part of the

teachers RPMS. The use of technology in the classroom should be

strengthened so that available ICT resources in the school could

serve its purpose which is to enhance the delivery of instruction to

the learners. Policy directions are recommended so that teachers

and school administrators are guided in the implementation of ICT

use in the school. Lastly, ICT skills among teachers should be met by

School Heads through series of trainings so that teachers can

improve their teaching skills with the use of technology in all

learning areas.

References

Davis, N., Preston, C., & Sahin, I. (2009). ICT teacher training:

Evidence for multilevel evaluation from a national initiative.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 40 (1), 135 148.

Jegede P.O., Odusula O.D., Ilore, M.O. (2007). Relationship between

ICT competence and attitude among Nigerian Tertiary

 Institution Lecturers. Educational Research and Review Vol. 2

(7), pp. 172 175, July 2007.

Nuez, L.A. (2010). Educational Technology: Transforming Teaching

and Learning, C&E Publishing, Inc., Quezon City. Philippines

Pelgrum, W.J. (2002). The Effectiveness of ICT in schools: Current

trends and future prospects discussion paper. Paper presented

at the OECD Japan Seminar: Teachers, teacher policies and

ICT.