Exploring the utilization of ICTs in the competence-based history and political education curriculum: a case of lower secondary schools in Mukono Municipality, Uganda

Abstract

The competency-based curriculum was rolled out in January 2020 by the Ministry of Education and Sports to replace the traditional teacher-centred traditional curriculum, which was considered responsible for producing graduates with limited job prospects in the ordinary level of secondary education. This new competence-based curriculum emphasizes developing key competencies through the use of Information and Communication Technologies, aimed at equipping learners with relevant skills to tackle the requirements of the 21st-century job market. This study examined how ICTs can be used to help students learn within the context of a competence-based History and Political Education curriculum. Informed by the Activity theory, the research explored how teachers utilized ICTs, and the benefits, and challenges experienced by teachers when teaching using these materials in a competence-based History and Political Education curriculum. This research involved a purely qualitative approach and utilized a multi-case study design. Eight secondary schools were purposely selected, and in each school, a teacher was, chosen based on their expertise and qualifications as trained History teachers. Data collection for the study was done through in-depth interviews and observation, which was followed by the application of thematic analysis for its analysis. The study revealed that the use of ICTs in teaching makes the lesson lively, and more interesting, and promotes active participation and engagement among students. The findings further suggest that the use of ICTs in teaching is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and that teachers should adopt different approaches to utilizing ICTs in their history classes. It was also found that a general challenge was scarcity and expense of ICTs, which made them inaccessible to many schools and students. The high cost associated with buying some of these ICTs such as computers and projectors created a barrier to their effective integration into lessons, since most teachers shared some ICTs as a department. The study recommends that teachers should learn to available and context-specific ICTs such as mobile phones, laptops and projectors that meet the current educational demands, be creative and focus on other range of ICTs in their lessons to effectively integrate the competence-based History and Political Education curriculum.