Barriers to Effective Integration of Information and Communication Technology in Harare Secondary Schools

This study explored the main barriers to effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Harare Secondary School Education. Data were collected using close ended questionnaires. Participatory research was also carried out to familiarize with the changes happening in secondary schools with respect to integration of ICT in education and to find out the challenges being faced. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results showed that although teachers are aware of the benefits of using ICTs in education there was still limited use of this pedagogy in classrooms as teachers were facing a number of challenges which acted as barriers to the successful implementation of ICT in education. These include lack of a clear sense of direction on how to use ICT to enhance the learning of students, inadequate resources and support as well as lack of the required technological skills among the teachers. The study recommends that effective planning to counter these barriers before implementation would greatly increase the effectiveness of ICT integration in secondary schools.