EXTENT OF ICT AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN PUBLIC TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to study the Extent of ICT in agricultural education in public tertiary institutions in Edo state. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consists of all undergraduate students enrolled in agricultural programmes at the department of Vocational and Technical Education, with a population numbers of 80 students comprising 100- to 400-level students in the Department of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE), Faculty of Education, University of Benin in the 2022/2023 academic session. Data of this study was collected through the use of twenty (20) items questionnaire and observation; its findings were interpreted using mean and standard deviation, subsequently followed by discussion of results. The sample size for this study was eighty (80) students enrolled in agricultural programmes at the University of Benin. The entire population was used because of the few students enrolled in agricultural programmes at Vocational and Technical Education. The research instrument that was used for the study was a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises two sections. Section A was concerned with the background information of the respondents. Section B was concerned with a series of questions that was used for the sake of this study. The researcher used four point rating: strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D), strongly disagree (SD). The instrument was made up of twenty (20) items constructed to draw answers from the different respondents. The validity of the instrument was determined by the researcher’s supervisor and two other experts; the instrument was scrutinized, and feedbacks were amalgamated into the instrument. The data collected was analyzed using mean (𝒙̅), standard deviation (SD. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that there are generally positive perceptions of the influence of ICT on student academic performance in agricultural education. It was agreed that ICT tools and resources help them understand complex agricultural concepts more easily, make learning more engaging.