One Laptop Per Child Policy in Ghana: Any Impact on Teaching and Learning?
Edward Asante, Samuel Owusu-Ansah · Library philosophy and practice · 2015
Introduction Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is perceived to drive the growth of modern economies. To enhance its ability to achieve fundamental and sustainable improvement, Ghana like other countries has made huge investment and drafted policies that help the country utilize technology for its economic growth (Hitachi, 2009). As a result, ICT is now part of the Strategic Plan of Ghana Education Service. The Government of Ghana (GoG) has also introduced an intervention programme dubbed One Laptop Per Child (OLPCP) to sustain the interest of pupils in ICT as well as enhance teaching and learning in basic schools. Several basic schools have already benefited from this policy, the programme which started in 2008 (ICT in Education Policy, 2008). As Ololube et al. (2007) observed, the introduction of ICT usage, integration and diffusion at such level has initiated a new age in educational methodologies, thus it has radically changed traditional method of information delivery and usage patterns in the domain as well as offering contemporary learning experience for both instructors and students. It can be concluded that the deployment of ICT contributes to effective learning through expanding access, promoting efficiency, improving the quality of learning and improving management systems (Draxier and Haddad, 2002). Ghana is however yet to derive the maximum benefit most of the developed economies have gained from investing in ICT. The perceived problem appears to be on the ground is that the academic performance of the beneficiaries of the laptops may not necessarily improve because there are no qualified teachers, modems, accessories, maintenance, electricity as well as infrastructure to enhance the teaching and learning of ICT in the communities the policy has been introduced. The rapid development of technology globally has affected all spheres of life- notably in agriculture, medicine, education, communication, records keeping and management, etc. In an attempt to embrace this global phenomenon and to build the capacity of its human capital, the GoG has instituted a policy of a laptop per child in basic schools. This seeks to support teaching and learning, as capped in Ghana's ICT Education of 2008. Several studies (Draxier and Haddad, 2002; Mangiatordi and Pischetola, 2010) have been conducted on this policy, but they seemed not to have covered the effect on teaching and learning of beneficiaries in developing countries like Ghana. It is against this backdrop that further empirical findings were necessary to fill the gap and add to the body of knowledge on the impact of academic performance (dependent variable) of beneficiary students using One Laptop Per Child Policy as an independent variable. Objectives of the study The study assesses the impact of the OLPCP on teaching and learning in basic schools in the Suhum Municipality, a suburb of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Specifically the study sought to find out the criteria used for the distribution of the laptops to the beneficiary students, assess the impact of the OLPCP on the academic performance of the beneficiary students and ascertain the challenges that hinder the attainment of the goals of the policy. To explore the objectives of the study, the following specific questions were asked: What criteria are used in the distribution of the laptops?; Has the policy led to an improvement in the academic performance of the beneficiary students? and What challenges hinder the attainment of the goals of the policy?. Literature Review Introduction of ICT in education Information technology (IT) refers to all equipment, processes, procedures and systems used to provide and support information systems (both computerized and manual) within an organisation and those reaching out to customers and suppliers (Shelly, et al., 2006). The term information and communication technology (ICT) was coined to reflect the seamless convergence of digital processing and telecommunications (Negroponte, et al. …