Gender Disparities in ICT Beliefs and Usage Among Learners in Basic Public Schools in Urban Slums in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines gender disparities in beliefs about and the usage of Informationand Communications Technology (ICT) among students in basic public schools inurban slums in Ghana. A mixed-methods approach with a concurrent researchdesign was employed, collecting data from 379 junior high school (JHS) studentsacross 20 schools in 11 urban slums within two cities. Data collection tools includeda self-administered structured questionnaire that utilized a five-point Likert-typescale and a lesson observation schedule. The data was analyzed using t-testsof independent samples and Pearson correlation in IBM SPSS version 26. Thefindings indicate that students have very high beliefs in ICT, evidenced by a meanscore of 4.41, demonstrating their strong conviction in technology’s potential toenhance education. However, disparities in ICT usage were apparent, with a meanscore of 3.18 and a standard deviation of 1.33. The Pearson correlation analysisrevealed a very weak but statistically significant positive relationship betweenstudents’ beliefs in ICT and their ICT usage (r = 0.127, p = 0.014), suggesting thatstronger beliefs in the educational value of technology may modestly increaseusage frequency. Gender comparisons showed no significant differences in ICTbeliefs between male (M = 30.87, SD = 3.59) and female learners (M = 30.78,SD = 3.88), t(370) = 0.20, p = 0.84. Similarly, no significant differences were foundin ICT usage between males (M = 26.15, SD = 6.58) and females (M = 24.83,SD = 6.87), t(368) = 1.88, p = 0.06, although males reported slightly higher usagelevels. This study underscores the potential of ICT to transform education inresource-constrained environments while highlighting the limited impact ofgender on ICT beliefs and usage. The findings suggest that addressing barriersto ICT access and usage, rather than focusing solely on gender, may be crucial forachieving equitable technology integration in education.