Adopting Technology in Third World Classrooms: Students' Viewpoint about Computers in Science Teaching and Learning

The use of computers in education, which has emerged as a result of the considerable growth in information technology, has several implications for the global search for effective strategies in teaching school subjects. In contrast to what happens in the developed world, several developing countries like Nigeria are yet to fully appreciate the full benefits of computers and their usage in every day life. In Nigeria the Federal Government has only just taken the bold step to introduce computers into some selected classrooms as a modest beginning to the full scale use of computers in the society. The literature is replete with accounts indicating that the importation of several ideas into environments other than where they have been developed or meant, has often caused pedagogic and cultural problems. The paradigm of constructivism argues for the need to begin any instructional endeavor with pupils constructing their own knowledge using prior knowledge. This proposition motivated this study with the aim of seeking information that could be relevant to the effective introduction and use of computer in Third World classrooms. What for example, do Nigerian pupils perceive as the role of computers in the classroom? What is their concept of a computer and do they nurse any apprehensions? What sociocultural consequences would this have? This study was designed to gather and provide answers to these and other related questions. Using a four-part questionnaire with a total of 29 items, data were collected from a sample of 200 senior secondary one (grade level 10) students from the Lagos metropolitan area. The results of this study strongly suggest that the majority of Nigerian students: welcome and are enthusiastic about the introduction of computers into their classrooms; are concerned about their socio-economic status; demonstrate possession of computers have significant effect on their attitudes; and most of the students nurse some social and cultural apprehensions regarding the presence of computers in their classrooms.