Exploration of the relationships between the information and communication technology (ICT) and the education system in Morocco

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a necessary apparatus for development and teachers in developing countries are facing increasing social pressure to use ICTs. Consequently, countries have adapted several methods of teaching and learning and made continuous reforms for a better quality of education. In the same vein, Morocco, like all developing countries, has responded actively to the importance of the use and integration of ICTs in its educational system and thus, several initiatives aimed at generalizing the use of ICTs in education have been carried out. However, multiple challenges, such as those related to effectiveness, sustainability, and infrastructure related challenges, capacity building, remain to be solved. Indeed, integrating ICTs in education is a complex task due to its dynamic nature. To address this gap, the current paper shed light on the integration of ICTs in the education system in Morocco and aims to understand the perception of Moroccan teachers vis-à-vis the integration of ICT in primary and secondary education levels. Understanding the perception is very important, because it helps to implement an effective integrations of ICTs and thus, to improve teaching and learning quality and to enable the nation to be creative and competitive for the current globalization. In addition, these results will ensure that technology investment decisions are optimized in the system. This result is extremely important for involved ministries and departments. First, this help to identify groups that require intervention to help them in terms of infrastructure, awareness raising or in terms of training. Second, this help involved departments to invest in bridging the digital literacy and the digital divide that separates the populations, as well as to work in favour of equal opportunities. To understand the perception, our paper is based on testing the statistical association between different features such as the age, the gender or the experience and the use of ICTs and learning approaches. The second part of our methodology is based on the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to determine a composite indicator of ICT integration. Our key findings demonstrate that the “Online learning” is more associated with the “age”, the “education level”, the “cycle” and the “area”. Moreover, the results underscore that most teachers think that online learning contributes to the development of skills and this conviction depends on the gender, the sector, and the area (Urban/Rural). Based on our findings, there is a statistical association between the use of ICTs in the teaching and the learning process and the “Major” and the “Education level”. However, other factors such as the age, the gender or the experience are not pertinent. The insights from our study stand crucial, because the paper attempts to shed some light on the main barriers that prevent using ICTs in the teaching and the learning. These factors are statistically associated with some specific issues and factors such as the “education level” with “lack of knowledge of educational websites, educational process or human character or weak desire to use ICT” or the “area” with “insufficient number of computers or scarcity of educational websites.” These findings mean that teachers should always be ready and well-equipped, in terms of ICT competencies and positive attitude to provide ICT-based learning opportunities for students to improve their learning quality. Future studies need to consider other aspects of ICT integration especially from the management point of view such as strategic planning and policy making.