26

Chapter II

THE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter includes a review of literature and

studies which have significant relationship and similarities

with the present study.

The researcher made a comprehensive review of various

studies and literature found in different libraries of

colleges and universities as well as public libraries in the

Quezon province and elsewhere: unpublished thesis journals,

books, materials found in the internet and other related

sources where likewise review in the recent study. The

relevance of this materials to the research in consideration

was established and their significant finding were given due

consideration.

From the survey of related literature and studies, it

was noted that there has been no published studies on the

computer literacy of teachers in Calauag West District.

Studies reviewed were classified into training program and

KSA. They were described findings were cited as well as

their similarities differences and inputs. Synthesis of the

 27

state-of-the-art and gaps bridged by this study were

likewise cited.

This chapter also contains the theoretical and

conceptual frameworks of the study with their corresponding

paradigms.

21st Century Teachers

Abecede (2003) specified that today’s world teachers need to be

equipped not only with subject-specific expertise and effective

teaching methodologies, but with the capacity to assist students

to meet the demands of the emerging knowledge-base society.

Teachers therefore require familiarity with new forms of ICT and

need to have the ability to use that technology to enhance the

quality of teaching and learning. Jung (2002) stated that ICTs

have also been used to improve access to and the quality of

teacher training. For example, institution like the Cyber Teacher

Training Center (CTTC) in South Korea are taking advantage of the

internet to provide better teacher professional development

opportunities to in-service teachers. The government funded CTTC,

established in1997, offers self-directed, self-paced Web-based

courses for primary and secondary school teachers. Courses

include “Computer in the Information Society”, “Education

Reform” and “Future Society and Education”. On

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line tutorials are also offered, with some courses requiring

occasional face-to-face meetings. According to Corbel (2004),

computer literacy skills are taught because they:

• lay the foundations for developing a critical

understanding of the Information Age; help students

make effective use of computers, both in classroom

and workplace settings, which in turn improves

attitudes and reduces frustration;

• shape a proactive view regarding the role of

computers in everyday life;

• assist those who are „technophobic‟ to overcome

fears of increasing computerization of government and

social support agencies;

• create a solid skills base among students so that we

can collectively pursue more creative uses of computers in

the syllabus, such as project-based learning;

• extend the personal enjoyment gained through keeping in

touch by regular email use, for example, or in finding

satisfying search engine results;

• provide „realia‟ for terms that relate to hardware,

software, the Internet, and the many different uses and

phenomena that have arisen from online culture. Akhtar (2010)

gave emphasis to a sound policy and holistic plan for ICT

integration and recognized the critical role that teachers

 29

play in ensuring the appropriate, effective, and sustainable

use of ICTs to provide quality education for all.

COMPUTER USAGE IN SCHOOL

Shelly (2007) attested that teacher can increase the productivity

significantly by using word processing software to create

documents, such as lesson plans, handouts, parent communications,

and student tests. Teachers use word processing to transform paper

documents into electronic form to eliminate redundant works.

Spreadsheets are similar to teacher grade books. Teachers often

keep grade books on a spreadsheet and have completely up-to-date

averages for all students. Some spreadsheet program also includes

a chart function so that teachers can display class averages on a

bar chart to provide a visual comparison on the Classes’

performance (Barry, 2004). Teachers used spreadsheet to record

and compute student grades. According to Good (2008), presentation

graphics application software are typically used to create

presentation in the form of slides that can be used to create

overhead transparencies or printed handouts or books, as well as

to present information in electronic form. This type of software

applications is important for educators, because electronic

presentation can be integrated into units or lesson. Teachers used

presentation to demonstrate their ideas using computer for better

understanding of the topic. The Internet offers research, tips,

 30

lesson plans, discussion opportunities, and a treasure trove of

data (Depaul,2002). Teachers can find an almost unlimited number

of ideas and plans on the internet (Hunt, 2009). Also Dulan

(2010), think that an Internet connection would help to get people

to use computers more for research and to send e-mails to

teachers. Teachers also use internet for communication purposes to

students and other peers. In Chandra (2005) works, teachers need

more that a quick course in basic computer operations. They need

guidance in using the best tool in the best ways to support the

best kinds of instruction.

IMPACT OF ICT TO THE LEARNERS

Students have high regard on the capability of their teachers. It

is a fact that many students can afford to have ICT gadgets at

home, hence, they are advanced in terms of knowledge and skills on

ICT. It is a great challenge for teachers to learn and internalize

the use of computers in the subjects they are teaching,

integrating ICT in the classroom instruction (Itaas,2009).The

Philippine Star (2006) discussed the edge of students over

teachers in ICT. Students now are virtually knowledgeable about

chatting, on-line games and other useful applications of computer,

while teachers, mostly, are clueless about them. The sad part is

teachers lack training so they cannot even teach students of

computer. According to Labian (2007), teachers touch the future of

the learners that pass through their caring hands. Their task is
 31

not just imparting knowledge but also preparing students with

stand all the rigors in a high competitive societal order.

Information Communication Technology knowledge is their

technological fuel and raw materials that will help them achieve

lofty goals ahead. Teachers must be the first one to be educated

on how to maximize the capabilities of computers. The generation

today is a world of innovation and new technology. The teachers

must be aware and adapt the changes so that they can gain

additional skills and improve their teaching styles and strategies

in teaching. It also gives them an opportunity for professional

development.

COMPUTER LITERACY PROGRAM IN DepEd

Promoting computer literacy program will lead to the excellence of

teachers. According to Rodriguez (2007), it is also important to

remember that technology requires administrative and community

support and involvement that are critical to its successful

integration in education. Commitment and interest of teachers and

school heads is the most critical factor for successful

implementation of any school innovation, especially technology.

The teacher must be fully-equipped and up to the task. Teacher

must harness the full potential of technology to improve learning

outcomes (Sec. Lapus, 2008). This information age needs modern

teachers. They are the one who build education and learning; and

if they lack knowledge and skills, the learners will be most

 32

affected. Former President Arroyo called for a better integration

of ICT into the Philippine educational system to improve the

quality of learning and hone the computer skills of young

Filipinos to give them a competitive edge in securing work in a

world that is growing highly technical (Manila Bulletin,

2006).Also she enjoins all teachers from public schools to get the

National ICT Competency Standards (NICS) and be ICT-certified. She

stressed that teachers need to be competent in ICT so classroom

dynamics become more innovative with ICT. Sen. Escudero (2002)

gives importance to the advancement of science and technology.

Modern telecommunications and modes of transportation have

facilitated simultaneous and fast exchange of ideas, information

and resources among nations. This is the global technological and

scientific setting which confronts the Philippines today. That is

why the government proposed a bill about integrating computer

education program in the educational system. One of government

plans is to promote computer literacy by providing trainings and

workshop for both learners and teachers. Schools like Southern

Iloilo Polytechnic College held a computer literacy seminar-

workshop. It aimed to provide computer literacy training and

update faculty and staff of the different subject areas. School

managers believed that the use of computer could help teachers

increase their efficiency and effectiveness. The use of this

technology facilitates communication and information, record

 33

keeping and retrieving, programming, research and evaluation,

provisions of instructional aids and devices, preparation of

reports, interpretation of test results and others (Dela Cruz,

2008). Datamex and Deped Intel Teachprogram also provide free

seminars, workshops and trainings to the teachers. It focuses on

integrating computer technology into the curriculum. At present,

the Department of Education aims to fully equip administrators,

teachers, and support staff in word processing, electronic

spreadsheets, and graphic software to aid them in their

instructional task (Manzano, 2002).Casiano (2007) signified that

different places in the world are connected. Globalization has

bridged the gap, and computer is the key instrument. Facebook,

Friendster these are just two social networking sites that

pioneered the phenomenon. These facts are most observable in the

developed and some developing countries. On the other hand, Robles

(2006) stated that even though the Philippine government has

initiated several programs and projects for the use of ICT in

education, real implementation in day-to-day learning is still

limited.

TECNO-PHOBEA

Teachers’ fear of technology still hinders the optimal use of

ICT-related skills in their teaching activities. Other constraints

include the traditional mindset of the school principals,

inadequacy of ICT facilities, the lack of adequate maintenance of

 34

the available/existing ICT resources, dependence for financial

investment on the central government and dependence on ICT service

providers for software/courseware. Despite various training

program having been provided to teachers, there is still a need to

embark on a comprehensive and sustained in-service training for

teachers. Likewise, a systematic development program for education

managers needs also to be implemented to change the mindset of

principals so they appreciate the value of ICT in education

(Belawati, 2004).The 21st century is considered as the period of

information technology all over the world. In just a few seconds,

with the tip of one’s finger, current information and facts are

gathered through the use of highly advanced facilities and

machines. This technological breakthrough has brought many changes

in education and other disciplines of learning. Technology has

connected all places, people, and events in the world. It has made

learning-teaching convenient and easy. It is necessary for

teachers to be aware of the appropriate place of technology in

education. They must know when and how to use technology to

advance the purposes of education (Orencia, 2004).

GLOBAL TRENDS AND ISSUE IN ICT

According to the study of Asan (2003), the use computer in

education opens a new area of knowledge and offers a tool that has

the potential to change some of the existing educational methods.

The teacher is the key to the effective exploitation of this

 35

resource in the educational system. As computer use continues to

increase in society, educators must also prepare for the use of

computers within the classroom. Undoubtedly the recent advancement

in information technology innovations and computer usage is

rapidly transforming work culture and teachers cannot escape the

fact that today’s classrooms must provide technology-

supported learning (Angers & Machtmes, 2005). Being prepared to

adopt and use technology and knowing how that technology can

support student learning must become integral skills in every

teacher’s professional repertoire. District and school policy and

professional development workshops and training are designed to

positively influence teachers‟ adoption and usage of

computer technology (Kumar, 2008).The study of Ogunkola (2008),

seeks to examine the science teachers’ computer attitude,

ownership and frequency of computer use as predictors of the

science teachers’ literacy in basic computer operations. In

other words, the extents to which the variables jointly and

individually predict the teachers’ computer literacy are

determined. In a study conducted at Gordon University Aberdeen in

Scotland, teachers’ ICT skills and knowledge is relatively

low and is focused on a fairly narrow range of ICT. Word

processing is the predominant used made of ICT in primary and

secondary schools. The used of other software application like

spreadsheets is minimal (Tella, 2007).In Mahmud study (2010), most

 36

of the teachers had moderate level of basic ICT. They were

familiar with application software such word processing and

electronic presentation. In this study too it was found that

formal ICT training and ICT experience influence the teachers’

knowledge, skills and attitude. Therefore, teachers especially the

older ones and normally with more teaching experience need to be

identified, and provided with specially designed training

programs, in various forms of ICT courses and workshops. In study

of Razak (2009), after examining various factors such as teachers’

competency, attitudes, infrastructure and support, it can be

concluded that the majority of English teachers in Malaysian

technical schools are still novice users of IT. Some of the reason

deduced from the survey and the interview were low level of

computer competency, less focus on the new computing skills,

limited training program, techno fear, limited infrastructure and

support.

PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION LANDSCAPE IN ICT

In study of Famor (2005), the use of ICT in education has become

a critical factor to ensure that a country’s workforce is

skilled and prepared to meet the challenges of development and

global employment opportunities. Thus, as ICT becomes part of the

Philippine basic education landscape, the inclusion of basic

learning competencies in computers to educate our Filipino

learners so that they can be globally competitive and raise their

 37

personal and national esteem, and realize a progressive life will

be no less than strategic. The study made by Dollado (2002) showed

that teachers and administrators of Calbayog Pilot Central School

had a minor knowledge in computer in terms of concepts; also they

lacked trainings in terms of computer. Based on Cajilin study

(2009), the data collected on ICT training programs revealed the

scarcity of professional development opportunities. In her

example, out of 111 teachers only 30% were able to attend ICT

training programs that were spread over a 15-year period, from

1994 to early 2009.Valenzuela (2005) piloted a study to classify

technology orientation in terms of awareness and utilization and

the perceived teachers’ competence in technology at the

Dasmarinas National High School, Cavite. The respondents of the

study were 116 non-computer teachers. The questionnaire was the

main tool in gathering the data in order to solicit responses for

the following areas: technology orientation in terms of awareness,

utilization and the teacher’s competency in technology. The

data gathered were analyzed using the following statistical

treatments: mean, standard deviation, correlated t-test. The

results of the computations were the following: The overall mean

on the technology of awareness of teachers was 1.81, which means

that the respondents were aware on the use of technology to a

little extent only. The overall mean of technology utilization was

1.88, which means that the respondents seldom utilized technology

 38

in their teaching. The overall mean of utilization and competence

items showed a correlated t-text value of .899. The findings

revealed that there was a positive and moderate to high

significant correlations between utilization and competence. This

implied that the more teachers use technology applications and

operations the more they become competent in technology. The DOST

conducted a survey of schools that gathered baseline data on

schools’ Mathematics and Science teachers and the extent of

the schools‟ use of ICT for instruction and other

purposes. The survey, which covered 4,310 public schools, used the

following indicators: (1) The percentage of computers used for

instruction and the percentage of computers used for

administrative work, (2) The percentage of classes (by subject

types) that used computers in instruction, (3) The percentage of

schools that engaged on outside technical to maintain the computer

system, (4) Percentage of schools with telephone lines,(5)

Observation of teacher and student practice and (6)Interviews of

innovative teachers on practices (teacher and student) related to

innovation, problems, solutions and prospects for sustaining and

continuing innovation.

In study of Tinio (2002), respondents were asked to rank what

they perceived to be the five biggest obstacles to their schools

use of ICT for teaching and learning. Rankings were consolidated

and mean ranks were computed. Lack of enough computers is the

 39

single biggest obstacle. All other issues have mean rankings

considerably lower than this. Lack of enough technical support for

operating and maintaining ICT resources and the lack of teacher

training opportunities are considered barriers to change as well.

So too are the lack of space for computers and the general lack of

funds for operations, including maintenance of equipment, purchase

of supplies, and electricity.

Synthesis of the State-of- the Art

Considering the general perspective of the contents of

research literature and related studies, the Philippine

Educational System is lagging behind among its neighboring

countries in Asia in terms of computer literacy.

Lee (2003) cited anticipations to the incorporation of ICT in

education and were eventually used by the researcher as guide

posts regarding possible perceptions of teachers to the issue. The

present study finds similarities to the works of Jones(2003)

wherein he stated that teachers need to have mastered a basic

level of computer literacy for them to take advantage of the

pedagogical and perfunctory upgrades that it could bring.

Corbel‟s (2004) writings, just like Jones‟, focused on why

teachers need computer literacy skills. Teachers serve as the most

direct agent of the entire educational system. If armed with

 40

functional computer knowledge, they possess the potentials to

transform themselves into role models who may influence their

students towards developing positive orientations and attitude

regarding the usefulness of computers. The study conducted by

Dollado (2002) and Cajilin (2009)tried to assess the computer

knowledge and skills of the teachers and administrators of the

school respondents. The results of their works highlighted the

dismal level of computer literacy amongst surveyed school

administrators and teachers. These corpora strengthen the desire

of the researcher to investigate whether Holy Rosary Foundation

has the same predicament and if such is the case, what may be done

to address the problem. Razak’s (2009) and Tinio’s (2002)

works pointed out the possible reasons why teachers lack computer

literacy. Although Razak conducted his research in Malaysia, the

results were never the less useful in this present study, i.e.

basically, those reasons are of systemic and attitudinal in

nature. Through awareness and underscoring the importance of

addressing those potential obstacles in initially blueprinting and

consequently implementing an ICT program, the researcher is

purposively provided with a major leverage. Preemptive actions may

be formulated to avoid the incipience of potential problems. The

problems identified by Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

in the course of computer resources utilization and application

provides the researcher invaluable insights on the possible

 41

recurrence of same constraints in the conduct of this study. The

work of Akhtar (2010), on the other hand, suggested plans and

policies in training teachers on ICT which can be used for the

proposal of the program. The researcher concurs with

hisviewpoint of giving primacy to the provision of sound andholi

stic ICT programs such that teachers may in turn become proactive

leaders in spearheading innovations as regards to their craft. The

optimism that such an ICT training program will consequently make

them become invaluable assets of society in pursuit of

development furthers the researcher’s zealous motivation to

proceed with this study. Recognizing the educational enterprise as

an open system, Rodriguez (2007) cited the importance of

positively involving other societal sectors that may influence the

success of integrating technology in education. This will

certainly help the researcher in planning for the program that he

aspires to bring into fruition. Valenzuela’S (2005) study ran

similar to the present study as regards to research design and

instruments used, in the sense that both studies aimed to

determine teachers’ technology awareness.

Gap Bridged by the Study

As revealed in the foregoing studies, it could be discern

that no study was ever made on the level of computer

literacy of Calauag West District. The present study is

focused on appraising literacy in computer operation and

 42

utilization. Therefore, the current research work is worthy

of pursuing a noble cause of upgrading the level of computer

literacy of teacher in Calauag West District. Furthermore,

the findings herein can be added to a rich source of

information for related studies and literature and

eventually for another investigation using other variables

or predictions.

Theoretical framework of the Study

Every study has to be strengthened with knowledge and

facts substantiated by the result of research the foregoing

theories from varied sources and references guided the

researcher in formulating his theory of using ICT in the

teaching – learning process in the classroom.

Social Reconstructionism simply rests on the idea that

schools need to shape or “reconstruct” society. This attempt

to reconstruct society through school and education. Social

reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the

addressing of social questions and a quest to create a

better society and worldwide democracy. Reconstructionist

educators focus on a curriculum that highlights social

reform as the aim of education.

The Progressivism Theory. John Dewey (1976) advocated the

progressivist theory. Educational progressivism is the

 43

belief that education must be based on the principle that

humans are social animals who learn best in real-life

activities with other people.

Cognitive theory. Jean Piaget 1972 was the mind behind the

theory. Piaget believed that concept enable learners to

synthesis the main similarities between things and

irrelevant and trivial details.

The paradigm illustrates the theoretical framework of

the study. It shows the relationship of the different

theories of learning integrating the performance of the

respondents under study. Also included were the different

theories.
44
 45

Conceptual Framework of the Study

The conceptual framework was design with three

dimensions: input, process and the output.

Input. It includes the respondents personal and

professional attributes like gender, age, educational

qualification, position little, school assignment, and

computer background as well as the statistical tools and

theories use in this study, various textbooks and references

along with the thesis/dissertation which guided the

researcher in so many ways.

Process. The formulation and validation of the research

instrument, determining the teachers’ level of computer

literacy in different computer applications and usage are

involved in the process as well as the formulation of

training design.

Output. A proposed training design came up as an

output. The Calauag West District can adapt or implement the

proposed training design to improve and develop their

knowledge and skills and application of computer literacy of

the teacher of the Calauag West District. A feedback

mechanism was installed so that corrective action be

 46

instituted in the input and process to attain the expected

output of the research work.