INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LITERACY AND BASIC COMPUTER COMPETENCY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Abstract

It has been widely recognized that Information Technology (IT) and Computer- Assisted Instruction (CAI) are currently used in most schools in Thailand to support classroom teaching.   Whilst the secondary school students have access to information technology and are capable of using computers at a relatively high level, their teachers should possess both IT literacy and computer skills in addition to their general academic qualifications.  This study aims to assess IT literacy of secondary school teachers, to study their attitudes toward the use of IT in their school context, and to assess their basic computer competency. The researcher developed three instruments to collect data:  (1) structured interview for IT literacy of the subjects, (2) questionnaire on their attitudes toward IT and computer use, (3) and task-based assessment of computer skills generally required in their teaching. The researcher collected data from fifteen secondary school teachers in three demonstration schools in Bangkok. An analysis of obtained qualitative and quantitative data pointed to (1) the subjects’ good to very good level of  IT literacy level, (2) their positive attitudes toward the use of IT in their school context, and (3) their good level of basic computer competency. As for pedagogic implications of the study, the research tools can be used by secondary schools for basic computer skill assessment or for teaching staff training as part of the school’s professional development.