AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE-MANAGEMENT CONTEXTUAL FACTOR IN THE EMERGENCE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

Information technology in schools aggressively emerged in the late 1990s to reinvent the teaching and learning process in Malaysia. Schools no longer existed merely for the purposes of traditional teaching and learning but were needed to enhance their knowledge activities so as to be able to cope with the rapid changes that were taking place. The objectives of this study are to determine the contribution of knowledge contextual factors to the knowledge activities, with particular reference to the emergence of information technologies in schools, and to evaluate progress with respect to knowledge activities in school education. The research is designed around questionnaires based on a knowledge-management conceptual framework administered to random samples of teachers in information technology-facilitated schools and regular schools so as to be able to make comparisons. Interestingly the findings show that the information technology under the “ICT Facilitated school” is not a key factor contributing to knowledge sharing among the teachers. The findings also provide evidence that culture is the most important factor relating to a knowledge activity. Knowledge friendly, motivating staff, committed leadership, openness and mutual trust are some examples of positive school culture, whereas management factor remains crucial in facilitating learning and sharing among teachers.