Abstract:

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in this twenty-first century classrooms has become eminent. Similarly, the emergence of the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has made most countries place priority on the online teaching platform through the use of ICT tools. This development has implicated the education system in Nigeria as one is not sure how prepared the teachers are in the adoption of the use of ICT in teaching. In this regard, literature is scarce on the extent of utilization of ICT in teaching among preschool teachers in Nigeria. This situation necessitated this study on the assessment of the extent of preschool school teachers’ utilisation of information and communication technology in teaching. Using a descriptive survey research design, a sample of 157 preschool practitioners in Enugu State, Nigeria participated in the study. Information and communication technology usage questionnaire was developed by the researchers and validated for this study. The internal consistency reliability index of the items of the instrument was estimated to be 0.76 using the Cronbach alpha method. Data were collected during the researchers’ visits to the schools used for the study. Using frequency and percentage, the data were analysed quantitatively. It was revealed that preschool teachers to a very low extent utilize ICT for teaching purposes. This implies that if urgent action is not taken to encourage teachers in the usage of ICT for teaching, the adoption of an online teaching platform will not be feasible. It was thus, recommended that preschool teachers should be encouraged through in-service training on the use of ICT in teaching.

Keywords:

Assessment, Information and communication technology, Preschool teachers.