Digitalization in School Management: Efficacy and Attitude in Public Secondary Schools in Rungwe District, Mbeya-Tanzania

Abstract

School management is a sunshade for accomplishing school achievement, improving output and refining the enlightening system at the school level. The adoption of digital technologies in Tanzania is perceived as vital for enhancing efficient managerial function in public secondary schools. However, the implementation of digital technologies in school management appears to be turbulent. This study attempted to explore digitalization in school management: efficacy and attitude in public secondary schools in Rungwe district Mbeya, Tanzania. The study was underpinned by two objectives: to determine the extent to which digital technology is effective in school management in public secondary schools and to examine the attitude of public secondary schools towards the use of digital technology in school management. This study adopted concurrent mixed research methods. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were adopted to select 180 participants, consisting of 160 teachers and 20 heads of schools. Questionnaires, interview guides and observation methods were employed to gather information from the participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 and qualitative data were systematized into themes and evaluated thematically. The findings indicated that to a large extent, digital technology has been efficacious in communication, finance, updating school information, student registration, transfer of information, and record-keeping. It was also revealed that public secondary schools perceive digitalization in school management as a complicated issue due to low networking, inadequate technical know-how, and inadequate technical support and complicated digital systems. The study recommended that the government should commit to up-to-date ICT policy, effectively building digital skills for the school leaders, integrating digital learning into secondary education programs, private sector engagement in digital technologies ventures in schools, and enhancing school networking infrastructures.