Part-Time Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perception and Attitude to ICT Supports for Distance Education in Nursing in Nigeria

Abstract

The increase in demand for university education remains unmet especially in developing countries; this has made the adoption of distance education imperative in our educational system. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been identified as a tool with the potential to improve the quality of education especially in developing countries. The study examined attitudes and perceptions of nursing students toward the use of Information and Communication Technology supports in Distance Education. A researcher designed and validated Questionnaire with alpha coefficient of 0.82 was administered to 396 students of the Department of Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria out of which 305 (70%) was returned and analysed. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the nurses (83.3%) had never been engaged in any online computer based training programme, a sizeable number of the respondents (63.9%) had no formal computer training and do not possess personal computer. Majority of respondents (74.4%) reported positive perception and attitudes towards the use of ICT supports in Distance Education. Also, lack of constant internet access was rated by the respondents (29.8%) as major challenge to e-learning support. Gender and Years of working experience had no significant influence on respondents’ attitudes and perceptions towards ICT supports.