The rapid development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) forces institutions of higher learning to enhance the ICT knowledge and skills of their students. A study was carried out to gauge the perceptions, knowledge and ICT... more
The rapid development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) forces institutions of higher learning to enhance the ICT knowledge and skills of their students. A study was carried out to gauge the perceptions, knowledge and ICT skills of 239 first year students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for the 200412005 intake. The research instruments were a questionnaire to measure perception, and a set of ICT knowledge and skills tests to measure the students' knowledge and skills in using applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Internet and email. These tests were developed based on UKM's ICT standards for students. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents perceived themselves as having very limited skill and competency in the use of ICT application programs. This perception was confirmed by the students' achievements on both ICT tests. It can be concluded that the first year students in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at UKM had not achieved the minimum standard of competency in ICT as proposed in the UKM ICT standards. It is suggested that these students be given ICT training and that the lecturers involved should also be equipped with ICT skills to enable integration of ICT in teaching.
