ASSESSMENT OF EXPERIENCE AND GENDER IMPLICATION ON TEACHERS’ ACQUISITION OF ICT SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULAR

Abstract

There is a paradigm shift in the conventional approach to issues in all facets of endeavour as result of the emergent of Information communication and technology. Functional and effective education may be grossly impossible in the 21^st century without the use of ICT.  Childhood education teachers are saddled with the responsibility of implementing the childhood curricular meant to prepare pupils and students of childhood age for subsequent levels of education. For this level of education to be at par with the contemporary global approach, it demands adequate possession of ICT skills.. In view of this background, the study aimed at ascertaining the impact of experience and gender on the extent to which childhood education teachers possess ICT skills, with emphasis to ICT skills that promote effective childhood curricular implementation. The study adopted ex post facto designs. Five research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A sample size of 2130 childhood education teachers (pre-basic, lower basic and upper basic) education teachers drawn from 213 childhood education schools in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja were used for the study. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while t-test was employed to test the hypotheses. The result of the study showed that the extent to which childhood education teachers possess ICT skills for effective implementation of childhood education curricular waste a great extent; gender and experience were significant factors on the extent childhood education teachers’ possess ICT skills. The study therefore recommended among others compulsory ICT training and retraining for high experience and female childhood education teachers in FCT, Abuja.