Gender and ICT affability amongst Students in Selected Public Secondary schools of Nyamagana District in Tanzania

Abstract

The current study investigated whether gender has an influence on the use of ICTs among secondary school students in Nyamagana district, located in the Mwanza region of Tanzania. The specific objectives of this study were (i) to establish if there are gender differences in ICT sociability among secondary school students and (ii) to determine the extent to which students use ICT to facilitate learning activities. The research employed a random sampling technique to select four schools, and a total of 121 students participated in the study. Questionnaires were administered to collect information from students, and t-tests and descriptive statistical analyses were conducted using the SPSS software version 20.0. The results revealed that male students showed a higher level of interest in using ICT devices compared to their female counterparts. This was evident from the calculated t-values and p-values, which exceeded the critical values of 1.96 and 0.05, respectively (i.e., t > 1.96, p > 0.05). With regard to accessibility, the study observed that male students had better access compared to female students. The results revealed that 56.1% of female students reported having no access to ICT facilities, while male students accounted for 43.9%. The results show that female students faced challenges in terms of accessibility and usability of ICT compared to their male peers during their learning activities. In light of these findings, the study suggests the formulation of policies that promote equal utilisation of ICT devices for students of all genders.