This study investigated early childhood education teacher technology usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The population of the study consisted of all early childhood education teachers in Nigeria. Sample size consisted of 1000 early childhood education teachers that were selected randomly. A self-designed instrument titled Early Childhood Education Teachers' Technology Usage Questionnaire (ECETTUQ) was administered on the participants for the study. Four research objectives were raised. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, simple percentages, mean, standard deviation, and independent t-test. The study indicated that the highest percentage of teachers was not involved in online technology during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency time in Nigeria. Limited internet service is the major weakness of online technology usage. The study recommends that government and private school owners should engage their teachers with regular training on technology usage, and better internet services should be provided by the service providers.
TopIntroduction
Following the Corona Virus (COVID19) outbreak in December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 as a global pandemic in March 2020 (WHO, 2020). In other to reduce and prevent its spread, many countries including Nigeria needed to follow a strict protocol, which includes complete lockdown or shut down of all levels of educational institutions, and other facilities where people could infect one another with COVID-19. Some guidelines to stop the viral outbreak included working from homes, the situation made all levels of educational institutions to operate remotely and to put emergency remote teaching into practice with the use of technology in teaching to make sure that all levels of students are kept busy.
The use of technology in Nigerian educational system is very important to learners of all ages most especially in emergency time such as this pandemic period. Gbenga-Akanmu and Jegede (2015) stated that the use of computer or internet in education is expected to benefit all groups of learners. It could be noted from their point that technology plays a vital role in education and in all aspects of learning. It therefore becomes crucial that all teachers have a good knowledge in the use of technology most especially in an emergency times so that the learners will not be left out. The use of technology in times of emergency is expected to bridge the gap between learners of all ages and their teachers and gives the opportunity for a continuous learning. It is therefore very important to investigate the levels of Early childhood education teacher’s understanding and usage of technology in an emergency times.
The authors defined Teachers’ technology usage as the ability of teachers in their efficient use of technological gadgets (computer, Android phone, I-pad, Tablet, screens, web services among others) in delivery of their teaching pedagogy via online to their respective pupils and students at all levels of education without any reservation. Technology (ICT) in education according to (Arnseth and Hatlevik, 2012) is the use of computer-based communication that gives room for the use of technology in daily classroom instructional process. The European Union observed that rapid implementation and acceptance of the use of digital technology into educational practices is yet to be fully implemented in many countries (EU 2013).
Surveying ICT usage in Nigeria, it was discovered that there is no particular policy for ICT in education, and the major challenges recognized were lack of electricity supply and telecommunication infrastructure in many parts of the country (Gbadegesin, Alabi and Omodun, 2018). Olowe, John and Okoroafor (2018) also observe that there is non-utilisation of technology like ICT in early childhood educational level. In other words, it can be denounced that ICT usage in the country has been facing some challenges before emergency period. Could these challenges also deny ECE teachers of implementing effective teaching process through ICT during Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria?
The teachers are viewed as facilitators in using ICT in their daily classrooms at any point in time, in this case, it is more essential for teachers to make use of technology extensively in their teaching and learning processes during the period of Covid-19 in Nigeria and other developing countries. However, Olowe, John and Okoroafor (2018) also stated that ECE teachers lack sufficient knowledge of technological usage in their teaching process. On this note, it is highly needed to inquire into level of teacher’s involvement on use of ICT during the pandemic period.
The term “emergency education” is used at inter-agency level to describe a situation where learners lack access to their national education systems which could be caused by man-made crises or natural disasters. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization views an educational emergency as a crisis situation created by conflicts or disasters which have destabilized, disorganized or destroyed the educational system, and which require an integrated process of crisis and post-crisis response United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 1999)