INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND COURSE OF STUDY ON THE ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION (ICT) SKILLS AMONG STUDENTS OF FEDERAL COLLEGES OF EDUCATION (FCE)

The study investigates the influence of gender and course of study on the acquisition of ICT skills among students of Federal colleges of Education (FCE),with particular reference to students in FCEs :Okene,Pankshin and Kontagora in north central geopolitical zone. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The population consists of four thousand, four hundred and fifteen students (4,415). The sample was made up of two hundred and twenty one (221) respondents. The instrument for data collection was the achievement/performance test. Data collected were analyzed using mean, t-test and ANOVA. The findings of the study indicate that gender influences ICT skill acquisition significantly. It also showed that though course of study influenced acquisition of ICT skill the influence is not significant. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made.