A comparative study of teachers' knowledge of common ICT software, their perceptions towards using ICT and their perceived self-confidence in integrating ICT in their classes according to gender in two international schools in Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to determine teachers' knowledge of common ICT software, their perceptions towards using ICT and their perceived self-confidence in integrating ICT in their classes according to gender in two international schools in Thailand in 2015. Students in Thailand and globally need to be able to cope well with the demands of the 21st century skills and ICTs are an important element of curricula worldwide. Therefore, the researcher wanted to determine if the male or the female teachers were more skilled in ICT to be able to pass on the knowledge to their students. An online questionnaire was used as a primary data collection instrument. The questionnaire measured the three variables of interest: knowledge of common ICT software, perceptions of ICT use, and perceived self-confidence in integrating ICT in their classes. The study respondents were teachers working in two international schools in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 145 teachers (84 male and 81 female) were targeted with the online questionnaire. Ninety-seven teachers responded out of which 49 were male and 48 were female. The study found that both male and female teachers had high knowledge of common ICT software. However, the male teachers had more positive perceptions of ICT and higher perceived self-confidence in integrating ICT in to their classes as compared to the female teachers. Recommendations For both practice and future research are provided.