Original Article

Attitude of Prospective Teachers Towards ICT in Manipur

 

 

INTRODUCTION

In this modern day, school, institution, society, technology (ICT) are the agents of development of a nation, many opportunities and benefits are also driven to compete in global context if these agents perform in a good way. Especially, the integration of ICT in the filed of education brings a lot of change in the student teachers of teacher education institutes, ICT assist our society and provides benefit to transfer ideas from one person to another in a right direction which gives ICT literacy to both students and teachers. Teachers needs to develop the vast knowledge of ICT for making the best version of teaching learning process, as ICT helps in bringing effective teaching and teaching strategies teachers should get more ideas about the application of ICT in both theoretically as well as practically. The technological adoption in every field of our task has created a variety of possibilities specially in the teaching learning process the use of ICT reduces the barriers faced in inside and outside the classroom as it helps in making society barrier-free curriculum and make their teaching interesting and effective. In higher institution, ICT acts as an active role in capacity building, change behaviour of the students and prepare them to contribute towards the societal growth and then to the nation. For the holistic development of our country, teaching learning process should be undergone in an effective way as the students are the pillars of our future. For this, teachers are able to communicate with the students during the acquisition of knowledge and construction of knowledge. Teacher role should be facilitator not authoritarian, learning should give full freedom to the students to increase critical and logical thinking, as well as construction of knowledge independently with the help of ICT and this brings the students in improving their life skills for their future’ role to the society as well as to the nation. The global changes in the adoption of technology have some barriers in teaching institutions like lack of ICT tools and unaware of adequate technologies among the teachers. So, only the adoption of ICT tools is not essential for the development of teaching learning process, some orientation program and courses are still required to increase the quality of education and to break this barrier after that teaching-learning process will become more effective and fit for this present society.

 

SIGNIFICANCE

The global shift from traditional ICT (radio, television, print) to modern technology (internet, portal, mobile) in every field of work reduces the human efforts. ICT takes a vital role in developing teaching-learning process, while adopting ICT tools there is still a space between the teachers and the modern tools. The use of ICTs in teaching learning process enhances the performances of the students, helps in designing instructional material then improved collaboration and connection between the teachers and students. In present society, development of human resources depends upon the utilization of ICTs, person in different profession especially in teaching profession required to know the operation or application of modern technology to enable transparency and quick decision making. Future teachers (student teachers) have to know about this modern technology, so that teaching and learning become more faster even in the absence of students inside the classroom it can occur with the help of internet and students far from the institutions also get the same opportunities. Therefore, the role of ICTs cannot be neglected as it gives intense benefits to both teachers and students.

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1)     To find out the level of Attitude Towards ICT present in the student teachers.

2)     To study whether there exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to gender variation.

3)     To study whether there exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to management of institute.

4)     To study whether there exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to rural and urban.

5)     To study whether there exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to their marital status.

 

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

H1: The level of Attitude Towards ICT present in the student teachers at teacher training institute of Manipur is extremely high.

H2: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to gender variation.

H3: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to management of institute.

H4: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to rural and urban areas.

H5: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to their marital status.

 

METHOD OF THE STUDY

In the present study, the investigator employed a descriptive survey method.

 

POPULATION AND SAMPLE OF THE STUDY

The study population comprised student teachers enrolled in teacher training institutes in Manipur. The study sample consisted of 100 students, with 50 each from government and private institutes, selected through simple random sampling.

 

 

TOOLS AND STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

A personal demographic scheduled and  standardised questionnaire, the Information Communication Technology Attitude Scale (ICTAS-GM, 2022), developed by Manmohan Gupta, was employed to measure ICT Attitude of the student teachers. The scale is found to be reliable at 0.86 (Cronbach alpha). The present study employed descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis and interpretation.

 

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

H1: The level of Attitude Towards ICT present in the student teachers at teacher training institute of Manipur is extremely high.

 

Table 1 The Level of Attitude Towards ICT
Attitude Towards ICT	N	%
Extremely High	28	28.0%
High	41	41.0%
Above Average	28	28.0%
Average	3	3.0%
Below Average	0	0%
Low	0	0%
Extremely Low	0	0%

 

 

 

A majority of student teachers demonstrated a favourable attitude towards ICT. Specifically, 41% reported a High level of attitude, followed by 28% each in the Extremely High and Above Average categories. Only 3% fell in the Average category, and none of the respondents reported attitudes below average. This indicates an overall positive orientation towards ICT among the student teachers. Thus, the hypothesis H1 is rejected.

H2: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to gender variation.

 

Table 2 Gender-Wise Comparison of Attitude Towards ICT
Gender	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	df	t	Sig.
Male	14	118.64	8.298	2.218	98	-0.841	0.270
Female	86	121.03	10.092	1.088

 

An independent samples t-test was conducted to examine whether male and female student teachers differed in their attitude towards ICT. Male students (M = 118.64, SD = 8.30) and female students (M = 121.03, SD = 10.09) did not differ significantly in their mean scores, the table value is -0.841 and the product value is 0.270. Since the significance value is greater than 0.05, the difference is not statistically significant. This indicates that gender does not play a significant role in shaping student teachers’ attitude towards ICT. So, the hypothesis H2 is rejected.

H3: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to management of institute.

 

Table 3 Management-Wise Comparison of Attitude Towards ICT
Management	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	df	t	Sig.
Government	50	119.58	9.615	1.36	98	-1.138	0.857
Private	50	121.82	10.066	1.424

 

An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the attitude towards ICT between government and private institute student teachers. The mean score of government students (M = 119.58, SD = 9.62) was slightly lower than that of private students (M = 121.82, SD = 10.07). However, this difference was not statistically significant, the table value is -1.138 and the product value is 0.857. Since the significance value exceeds 0.05, the null hypothesis is retained. This indicates that management type (government vs. private) does not significantly influence student teachers’ attitude towards ICT. Thus, the hypothesis H3 is rejected.

H4: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to rural and urban areas.

 

Table 4 Residential-Wise Comparison of Attitude Towards ICT
Residential	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	Df	t	Sig.
Rural	53	120.02	9.787	1.344	98	-0.732	0.635
Urban	47	121.47	9.987	1.457

 

An independent samples t-test was conducted to examine whether attitude towards ICT differed between rural and urban student teachers. The mean score of rural students (M = 120.02, SD = 9.79) was slightly lower than that of urban students (M = 121.47, SD = 9.99). However, this difference was not statistically significant, the table value is -0.732, and the product value is 0.635. Since the significance value is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis is retained. This indicates that residential background (rural vs. urban) does not significantly influence student teachers’ attitude towards ICT. Hence, the hypothesis H4 is rejected.

H5: There exists significant difference in the Attitude Towards ICT of the student teachers with reference to their marital status.

 

Table 5 Marital Status-Wise Comparison of Attitude Towards ICT
Marital Status	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	df	t	Sig.
Un-Married	85	121.25	10.046	1.09	98	1.326	0.281
Married	15	117.6	8.339	2.153

 

An independent samples t-test was conducted to determine whether attitude towards ICT differed based on marital status. Unmarried student teachers (M = 121.25, SD = 10.05) scored slightly higher than married student teachers (M = 117.60, SD = 8.34). However, this difference was not statistically significant, the table value is 1.326, and the product value is 0.281. Since the significance value is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis is retained. This indicates that marital status does not significantly influence student teachers’ attitude towards ICT. Hence, the hypothesis H5 is rejected.

 

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

1)     The study found reveals that a majority of student teachers demonstrated a favourable attitude towards ICT. Only a negligible number of student teachers has low attitude.

2)     The study found that there is no significant difference with regards to the gender variations.

3)     The attitude towards ICT between government and private institute student teachers is found to be not significant.

4)     The study found that there is no significant difference with regards to the residential area variations.

5)     The marital status variations of student teachers do not impact on the attitude towards ICT.

 

CONCLUSION

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a driving force of modern society. It plays an important role in today’s world, influencing everything from routine daily activities to major professional and educational functions. Its impact is evident across all spheres of life. In the education systems of the 21st century, ICT has become an essential component for enhancing teaching and learning processes.

In the context of teacher education, ICT skills and a positive attitude towards its use are crucial. The integration of ICT into the teaching–learning process, along with teachers’ readiness to adopt it, is vital for meeting contemporary educational demands. The study highlights the need for ICT training to help student teachers become fully competent and develop a positive attitude towards technology. Strengthening ICT skills will not only enhance instructional quality but also contribute to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered educational ecosystem.

  

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