Evaluation of the subject of computer studies in secondary schools

The topic of the research was "Evaluation of the subject of computer studies in secondary schools". Main objectives of the study were; (i) To find out the present status of the subject of Computer Studies in Secondary schools in respect of the objectives stated in the National Curriculum. (ii) To evaluate the role of teachers, students, educational administrators and facilities provided for the teaching of Computer Studies in Secondary Schools. (iii) To compare the standard of teaching of Computer Studies in secondary Boys’ and Girls’ Schools.(iv) Exploring the hurdles being faced in teaching of Computer Studies in Secondary Schools.

The study was delimited to secondary schools, offering Computer Studies at secondary level. The study consisted of three populations; one was comprising the principals of all the twenty secondary schools which were offering Computer Studies as a subject at secondary level, second was the teachers who were teaching Computer Studies at secondary level in all the twenty secondary schools and the third was all the students of 9th classes, studying Computer Studies as a subject at secondary level. Samples of the study were; all the principals, computer teachers and randomly selected 200 secondary level students of Computer Studies subject. Questionnaire was taken as a tool for data collection. Three questionnaires, one for the principals, second for the computer science teachers and third for the secondary level students were developed to collect data. All the three questionnaires were discussed with the supervisor and experts and were validated by calculating Cronbach's Alpha reliability through Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 12 (SPSS-12). The questionnaires were administered through self-approach. Weights were assigned to the responses and frequencies and percentages were calculated for item wise analysis. For testing the hypotheses about the students t-test was used whereas Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis (one way analysis of variance) were used to test the hypotheses about the teachers and principals. The results were interpreted accordingly. Main findings and conclusions were; Principals as well as teachers of both Boys’ and Girls’ schools were satisfied with the capacity of the computer laboratories, the furniture and the facility for the maintenance of computers. But there was lack of facilities like internet, stabilizers and UPS. Computer teachers in Boys’ schools possessed sound academic and professional competence record as compared to Girls’ schools. Principals of secondary schools superseded not only in academic and professional qualifications but also in their experiential back ground. The principals of both the sectors were quite satisfied with the teachers’ performance. Course contents were relevant with the mental level of the students and need of the time. Majority of the students opted to study the subject of Computer Studies, because they were interested in it. Work load and the allocation of periods in the time table were satisfactory. School was not providing sufficient funds for the up gradation of computer laboratories. Principals, computer teachers and students of Girls’ schools faced more problems and difficulties in managing and getting computer education at secondary level than Boys’ schools.