THE IMPACT OF ICT ON QUALITY EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITES OF BANGLADESH: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

Over the past few decades, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become gradually more important to the educational institutions, particularly at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. There are wide ranges of research exist to explore and study the use of ICT to improve quality of education in the process of learning and teaching in universities. This research examines how ICT is applied in the classroom, examination process, result processing, skill developments and the impact of using ICT in improving quality of education at universities of Bangladesh. This thesis argues that quality of education may be determined by the performances of ICT within organization (University), and the performance of ICT in the external environment (Business Organization) that depend on practices of ICT in the university education. It attempts to uncover the factors and how these factors of internal organizational environment (universities) interactions are important for better performance of ICT to enhance quality education. This interfacing theme is missing in previous researches. This study argues that when there is an association among practices of ICT, performance of ICT within organization (University), and the performances of ICT in the external environment (Business Organization), there is a likelihood that the quality of education at the university level would be improved. Proposed ICT framework or model consists of three different components, each has had a direct relationship with improvement of quality education. The broad proposition of the proposed ICT model is discussed and analyzed under three components. The phenomena has been investigated using a mixed methods approach. The qualitative data are collected from important stakeholders: FGD with alumnus and in-depth interview with employers. The survey has been conducted with teachers and students of the universities. In this study, mixed methods are applied to investigate the complex phenomena from various stakeholders’ points of view. Validation support has been made by combining different perspectives in order to give a complete picture of the phenomena. A research model has been developed and multiple techniques have been deployed to collect data from several sources. All the collected data are organized and analyzed systematically using SPSS 24.0 with AMOS for quantitative data and qualitative data analysis techniques used for qualitative data.

Current practices of ICT in the university level are partial and relatively weak but the impact of ICT on quality education is relatively strong. Literature of ICT adoption is examined to enhance theoretical foundation of this research. One of the gaps in existing literatures is that practices of ICT have not been improved according to the expectations. Objectives can act as a criterion to evaluate the outcome of the study. All the relevant theories are applied to explain the findings. It has been concluded that ICT’s contribute directly to enhance quality in teaching and learning at the university level. It also reveals that the teaching qualities and teacher’s motivation also depend on the intensity of ICT use. Finally, the study has found that ICT directly supports to access in broad range of study materials which ultimately improve the quality of education through ICT application in different disciplines of the university. The implications of the study on the relevant theories and practices are also considered. Furthermore, directions for future research are identified.