Teachers’ beliefs and their effects on the use of ICT in teaching science and mathematics in Tanzania

Abstract

This study investigated secondary school teachers’ beliefs about ICT use and their espoused use of ICT in teaching science and mathematics. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about ICT use and their espoused use of ICT in teaching science and mathematics. It further assessed the effect of teachers’ beliefs about ICT use in teaching science and mathematics. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, involving 172 randomly selected science and mathematics teachers from Kibaha District in Pwani Region, Tanzania. The findings revealed that teachers held predominantly negative beliefs about ICT use, which corresponds with their limited adoption of ICT in teaching. Furthermore, a strong relationship was observed between teachers’ beliefs about ICT use and their espoused ICT adoption in science and mathematics teaching. The study concludes that teachers’ beliefs about ICT use significantly influence their espoused adoption of ICT in science and mathematics teaching. It is recommended that initiatives to enhance ICT adoption should focus not only on training and resource provision but also on transforming teachers’ beliefs about ICT use, which appear to limit their likelihood of integrating ICT into science and mathematics instruction.