Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in school management functions and finding the status of the ICT resources at private secondary schools in Karachi, Pakistan. This research explored the understanding of the school stakeholders (principals, administer, finance officer, IT officer and teachers) that how far ICT has assisted to bring improvements in school management and what strategies used to overcome the challenges encountered by the school stakeholders while attaining school management functions (SMFs). The finding revealed that the private secondary schools has installed numerous ICT resources, and the level of ICT integration was intermediary. ICT has encouraged the administration and finance staff to upgrade the existing data management platforms, as it has eased to acquire, store, retrieve large data in just a few clicks, and bring a major shift in the attainment of school management functions like communication, record keeping and reporting. It has also assisted to enforce security and maintain the discipline of school in the form of security CCTV cameras and electronic attendance systems. However, numerous barriers had huge effect on the job performance of the senior stakeholders and efficiency of school management. School stakeholders were quite proficient, who use different strategies to overcome the challenges, where the development of self-sufficient individuals through capacity building sessions was the ultimate goal of school principals. The strategies used to overcome the challenges were found helpful. Overall, ICTs has revolutionized the working environment of school management and improved its efficiency. It is recommended that school management must ensure barrier-free ICT application and arrangement of professional development workshops to enhance the ICT skills. Finally, this study offers empirical evidences to the schools and suggests ways to implement appropriate strategies to overcome the challenges and help them to ensure barrier-free ICT application in the school management.

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