Availability of ICT Infrastructure and use of Student Management Information System in Teacher Education Programme by Distance Learning in selected Universities in Kenya

Student management information system (SMIS) is used in educational institutions to provide easy access to students' bio data which leads to increased efficiency, effectiveness and quality. About 80 per cent of Universities in Kenya that provide teacher education programme by distance learning. The objective of the study was to establish the extent to which availability of ICT infrastructure influences the use of SMIS in teacher education programme by distance learning in selected universities in Kenya. The study was based on Adaptive Structuration Theory, and cross-sectional survey design was used to guide the processes. A mixed approach was used for data collection involving structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions and data was collected from a random sample of 445 participants drawn from a target population of 9,936. Quantitative data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential. Statistical techniques were used to test the relationships between independent and dependent variables. The overall Chi-square test results revealed that there was a significant relationship between availability of ICT infrastructure and use of Student Management Information systems (Chi-Square value = 62.609; P-value=0.000<0.05) leading to rejection of the null hypothesis that here is no significant relationship between availability of ICT Infrastructure and use of Student Management Information System and acceptance of the alternative hypothesis. It was therefore concluded that availability of ICT infrastructure has an influence on the use of student management information system in teacher education programmes by distance learning. The finding will be useful to development planners and education policy makers by providing empirical knowledge for interventions that promote ICT infrastructure in universities. The study recommended that all universities in Kenya should adopt SMIS to support their administrative and academic functions and that the government should fast track rural electrification and laying of high speed internet cables to support the use of SMIS.