COMMON ICT APPLICATION SOFTWARE IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN JALINGO

Abstract

The study examines the use of information and technology on teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in public senior secondary schools in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State. The population of the study covered 26 public senior secondary schools in Jalingo LGA, 30 agricultural science teachers and 10,379 students. The sampling techniques adopted was stratified sampling techniques. The data for the study was sought from thirty (30) Agricultural Science teachers and two hundred (200) Agricultural Science senior secondary school students which were randomly drawn from public senior secondary schools selected in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba state, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was well-structured questionnaire. In order to ensure that the instruments measures what it was intended to measure in the main study, three specialists in the field of Education from faculty of education, Taraba State University validated the instrument. The data was analyzed using Decision Rule, Mean and Standard Deviation. The study concludes that ICT facilities and packages are scarcely available in public senior secondary schools and that the available ICT facilities and packages in public senior secondary schools in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State are not utilized in the teaching and learning of Agricultural science in the public senior secondary schools. The study, therefore recommend that Jalingo Local government authorities in Taraba State should establish Teachers’ Resource Centre for the development and testing of instructional ICT facilities and packages so as to key into the sustainable development goal, that Teacher education curriculum should be reviewed to emphasize knowledge and skills related to the use of ICT in teaching and learning of Agricultural science, that public senior secondary school in Jalingo LGA, that a computer laboratory for general use may help if it is not possible to make ICT facilities/packages available to all Agricultural science teachers, that regular ICT literacy program for Teachers should be organized, that public senior secondary schools in Jalingo LGA should be connected to the internet. The State Government should provide digital libraries, the State government can also help by subsiding or reducing the tariffs on importation of ICT facilities so that schools and others can afford the purchase of these ICT facilities and accessories since the price will come down.