English Language Teachers’ Competence in Integrating Information and Communication Technology in Secondary School Teaching in Kenya

Abstract

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a critical component of effective teaching and learning in contemporary education systems. This study examined the competence of English language teachers in integrating ICT in secondary school teaching in Kenya with a view to enhancing the achievement of curriculum goals. The study was conducted in Kimilili Sub-county, Bungoma County, Kenya, and adopted a descriptive phenomenological cross-sectional research design within a mixed-methods approach. The target population comprised 272 teachers of English and approximately 6,800 Form Three learners drawn from 34 public secondary schools. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions, and face-to-face interviews and analysed descriptively according to emerging themes. The findings revealed that teachers acquired ICT competence through pre-service teacher training, in-service courses, workshops, seminars, and peer interactions. Workshops and seminars were reported by 80% of the teachers as the primary avenues for ICT skills acquisition. Despite the availability of ICT resources such as mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers, projectors, and tablets in most schools, only a small proportion of teachers demonstrated adequate competence in integrating ICT into classroom pedagogy. Many teachers reported limited confidence in using ICT and perceived ICT integration as difficult and time-consuming. Inadequate infrastructure, limited technical support, insufficient training opportunities, unreliable internet connectivity, and inadequate institutional support further constrained effective ICT integration. Conversely, learners generally expressed positive attitudes towards ICT-supported learning activities. The study concludes that teachers’ competence significantly influences the successful integration of ICT in English language teaching. It recommends continuous professional development programmes, improved ICT infrastructure, enhanced technical support services, and increased investment in teacher capacity building to promote effective and sustainable ICT integration in secondary school education.