The use of information technology for educational management in Uganda and Botswana

This paper reports on a study of the implementation of a Computerised Information System (CIS) at the Ministry of Education in Botswana, and the use of CISs in secondary schools in Uganda. The findings portray the levels of use, the impact of CIS use, and the factors that influence the utilisation of the CISs in both countries. Although both countries have recognised the potential of CISs for managing educational institutions, the utilisation of these information systems were still at an early stage. Users’ perceptions of the impact of CIS use were in general very positive. Factors critical for CIS use in Botswana were the quality of the information the CIS provided, and the amount of user training. In Uganda, the amount of CIS use was especially dependent on the extent of training, and the support from the information system administrator. Carefully designed user training courses are considered important in promoting wider and better CIS use.

[1]  Adrie J. Visscher,et al.  Evaluation of the Use of Computer-Assisted Management Information Systems in Dutch Schools , 1999 .

[2]  E. Turiel.  The Development of Morality , 2007 .

[3]  P. Wild,et al.  Information Technology in Educational Management; synthesis of experience, research and future perspectives on computer-assisted school information systems. , 2001 .

[4]  Phil Wild,et al.  The Results of Implementing SIMS in English Secondary Schools , 2002, Information Technology in Educational Management.

[5]  Adrie J. Visscher,et al.  Computer-Assisted School Information Systems: The Concepts, Intended Benefits, and Stages of Development , 2001 .

[6]  Fred W. Riggs,et al.  Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of Prismatic Society. , 1965 .

[7]  Ian D. Selwood,et al.  Core Competences for ITEM. A Model , 2002, Information Technology in Educational Management.

[8]  Emma Martien Branderhorst.  Wat is er mis met MIS? : ontwerp en evaluatie van een training in het gebruik van managementinformatie binnen het voortgezet onderwijs , 2005 .

[9]  P. Allison.  Multiple Regression: A Primer , 1994 .

[10]  Alistair W. Kerr,et al.  Doing Statistics With SPSS , 2002 .

[11]  Arthur Tatnall,et al.  Information Technology and Educational Management in the Knowledge Society - IFIP TC3 WG3.7, 6th International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM) July 11-15, 2004, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain , 2005, ITEM.

[12]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[13]  L. Davies,et al.  School Management and Effectiveness in Developing Countries: The Post-Bureaucratic School , 1997 .

[14]  W. Reilly.  Management and training for development: The Hombe thesis , 1987 .

[15]  Adrie J. Visscher,et al.  The implications of how school staff handle information for the usage of school information systems , 1996 .

[16]  Adrie J. Visscher,et al.  School Administrative Computing: A Framework for Analysis , 1991 .

[17]  Henry Mintzberg.  Mintzberg on management : inside our strange world of organizations , 1989 .

[18]  Alex C. W. Fung,et al.  Management of Education in the Information Age: The Role of ICT, IFIP TC3/WG3.7 Fifth Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM 2002), August 18-22, 2002, Helsinki, Finland , 2003, Information Technology in Educational Management.

[19]  Moshe Telem,et al.  Information Technology in Educational Management , 1995, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology.

[20]  Meredith D. Gall,et al.  Educational Research: An Introduction , 1965 .

[21]  Alex C. W. Fung,et al.  Imperatives for Successful Implementation of School Information Systems , 2001 .

[22]  Alex C. W. Fung,et al.  The evaluation of the large scale implementation of a computer-assisted management information system in Hong Kong schools , 1998 .