Assessing Teacher Characteristics and ICT Adoption in Selected Lusaka Secondary Schools of Zambia

Abstract : This study assesses how specific teacher characteristics influence ICT adoption in selected Lusaka District secondary schools in Zambia. Despite ICT’s potential to transform pedagogy, its uptake in secondary schools generally remains uneven. It has been observed that technology alone cannot guarantee improved learning outcomes without underscoring the need to understand teacher-level drivers of adoption (Kalimaposo, et al., 2025; Selwyn,2012). A mixed-methods design was employed in the study, 210 teachers from ten government schools completed a survey grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Perceived usefulness was defined as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance” (Davis, 1989:320). In-depth interviews with 20 purposively sampled teachers explored attitudes, self-efficacy, and prior ICT training. In terms of study results/findings, regression analyses indicated that digital self-efficacy—understood as “people’s beliefs in their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance” (Bandura, 1997:3) – was the strongest predictor of ICT use (β = .42, p < .001). Facilitating conditions, or “the degree to which an individual believes that organizational and technical infrastructure exists to support use of the system” (Venkatesh et al., 2003:453), also significantly predicted adoption (β = .29, p < .01). Qualitative themes highlighted that targeted professional development and access to functional hardware were critical enablers. The study concludes that, teacher self-efficacy and infrastructural support jointly shape ICT integration in Lusaka’s secondary schools. The study recommends that, policymakers should prioritize ongoing hands-on training and strengthen school-level support structures to foster sustainable technology adoption.