Self-Proficiency of Essential Technology Skills of Undergraduate Students at a Coastal University in Ghana

: One of the numerous challenges facing education today is that of preparing students and staff for globalization and the information and communication revolution. Policymakers, educationists, non-governmental organizations, academics, and ordinary citizens are increasingly concerned with the necessity to make their societies competitive in the evolving information economy. Globalization and advancements in technology have led to an increased utilization of ICTs in all sectors, and education is no exception. Uses of ICTs in education are widespread and are repeatedly growing worldwide. Thus, this study investigated undergraduate students’ self-proficiency of essential technology skills in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana on the use of technology for various educational purposes. The study adopted the descriptive survey design using 318 randomly selected respondents from three different programmes in the university. The quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that students possessed technical abilities needed to perform some specific tasks such as changing the default settings of tech tools to meet specific needs and also make configurations to connect computers to a network. However, respondents were unable to perform advanced formatting functions such as customized tabs, insert page breaks, query databases and sort the results, and using styles as well as unable to create and manage classroom webpages.


Introduction
Self-proficient skill means the ability to take care of things on one's own with no or minimal support. It states that one is independently capable, can handle things on one's own or do not need help from someone more skilled, and one's ability to take on situations and obstacles that one can find solutions to by oneself. There has been a significant shift over the last century from manufacturing to emphasizing information and knowledge services. Knowledge itself is growing ever more specialized and expanding exponentially. Information and communication technology is transforming how we learn and the nature of how work is conducted and the meaning of social relationships. Shared decisionmaking, information sharing, collaboration, innovation, and speed are essential in today's enterprises. No longer can students look forward to middle class success in the conduct of manual labour or use of routine skills -work that can be accomplished by machines or easily out-sourced to less expensive labour markets. Today, much success lies in being able to communicate, share, and use information to solve complex problems, in being able to adapt and innovate in response to new demands and changing circumstances, in being able to command and expand the power of technology to create new knowledge. Hence, new standards for what students should be able to do are replacing the basic skill competencies and knowledge expectations of the past. To meet this challenge, a university in Ghana undergraduate students and for that matter, all undergraduate students must be transformed in ways that will enable students to acquire the creative thinking, flexible problem solving, collaboration and innovative skills they will need to be successful in work and life. The North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL) and the Metiri Group have also identified a framework for 21st century self-proficiency skills, which is organized into four categories: digital age literacies, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity which all goes a long way to meet the 21 st century soft technology skills.
Almost all educational institutions across the world are rethinking and reorganizing the manner in which they are preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to use technology in order to enhance classroom instruction. Also, higher educational institutions are also seeking new strategies to support the process of technology integration, as they are the leaders and models of technology diffusion. Teacher education programs are intended not only to give occupational and branch of learning expertise but also the vision for integrating technology into the teaching-learning process. Consequently, "…schools, colleges, and departments of education have sought not only to provide courses on educational technology but also to infuse technology into the teacher education curriculum such that preservice teachers experience technology-rich instruction both as students and as teachers" (Vannatta & Beyerbach, 2000, p. 132). Bandura's (1999) definition of self-efficacy (SE) as "beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required managing prospective situations" sketches the effects of one's actions for the time being and later. Thus, within the context of social cognitive theory, as Bandura later (2006, p.4) stated SE is an asset to "self-development, successful adaptation and change" that influences either directly or indirectly goals, motivation and determination to cope with difficulties. In the educational settings, along with the recent changes in the roles of actors in education, students have become stronger in the way they control their learning process by self-directed learning including through the Internet. Essentially, teachers' level of SE directly influences the pedagogical outcomes. Friedman and Kass (2002) updated the teacher self-efficacy definition by combining classroom and organizational efficacy in that: "teacher's perception of his or her ability to (a) perform required professional tasks and to regulate relations involved in the process of teaching and educating students and (b) perform organizational tasks, become part of the organization and its political and social processes" (p. 684). Becoming self-proficient in a technology driven society of the 21 st century is a plus for every native in that technology is gradually taking over every facet of our society today. This society has become cashless where most transactions are carried out online and/or through other means using technology. In the field of medicine, so much transformation has taken place making diagnosis and treatment so much easier using technology. Businesses are gaining as the services and purchasing industry has seen a boom as a result of technology. In the field of education, online degrees, distance education, teleconferencing and research has seen tremendous improvement as a result of technology thus there is no gainsaying about the fact that to be able to succeed in the 21 st century, every native should at least possess the core skills in technology in order not to lag behind.
A brief review of literature indicates that most pre-service teachers are not ready to integrate technology into teaching practice or learning processes (Akaadom, 2020;Bielefeldt, 2001;Willis & Montes, 2002;Doering, Hughes & Huffman, 2003;Wang, Ertmer & Newby, 2004). This pessimistic scenario may stem from several possible sources. Finley and Hartman (2004) discussed in their study, the issue of vision, skills and knowledge, plus departmental culture as barriers to the integration of technology into teachers' education courses. The researchers concluded that "the faculty will experiment with technology integration if they feel it is consistent with their teaching style, if they feel they are knowledgeable and competently skilled, if they are supported and rewarded for doing so, and if they can see how it is pedagogically useful". Among many research studies carried out to diffuse the technology use or enhance existing levels, Adams (2004) proposed a field-based strategy for training in-service elementary teachers to use technology, where learning from one another was encouraged. Although the teachers' use of technology was limited before the study, research concludes that both the computer skills and technology integration ideas have increased (Adams, 2004) the ability of individuals to reason effectively, ask pointed questions and solve problems, analyze and evaluate alternative points of view, and reflect critically on decisions and processes. The P21 initiative specifically focuses on the ability of learners to reason effectively, use systems thinking, make judgments and decisions, and solve problems. Trilling and Fadel (2009) define critical thinking as the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize information based on modes of learning, ensure that every student is college or work ready, and enable educators to be more flexible and creative in the ways they assist and engage students with learning disabilities and students that are needing a more challenging curriculum. Collaborative, computer-based learning environments can work to stimulate student learning and the process of inquiry (Wasson et al., 2003;Laurillard, 2009). McFarlane (2001) notes, "It seems that use of ICT can impact favourably on a range of attributes considered desirable in an effective learner: problem-solving capability; critical thinking skill; information-handling ability" (p. 230). In supporting digital and learning literacies, support staff and faculty should work to design flexible learning opportunities, situate those learning opportunities, where possible and appropriate, in authentic contexts, continually review how technologies are integrated into the curriculum, support students to use their own technologies and to develop effective strategies for learning with technology, use assessment and feedback to encourage innovation in learners' approaches to study, reward exploration as a process, empowering students to navigate increasingly complex learning landscapes, and support student self-assessment and review.
There is much work to be done to incorporate 21st century learning standards and implement curriculum designed to teach to such standards. To adequately prepare -to produce college and work ready -graduates and lecturers must learn and share content within the context of selfproficiency skills and core technological skills. In this regard, the researcher set out to ascertain from teachers being trained at a university in Ghana if they possess some core tech skills to be able to succeed in their chosen career and in life in general. Are these preservice teachers capable of using a database to enter, edit, sort, manipulate and interpret data? This is key in their chosen field of work if they have to succeed. Teachers need good knowledge of spreadsheet applications to handle their students' data, graph such data and interpret figures that come out of such data. It is worth noting that some teachers are unable to send and read emails with attachments. The researcher's little experience indicates some teachers/preservice teachers cannot access specific webpages (URLs) and search the web using a variety of tools. They lack an evaluation of search engines and know which ones to use for credible information online. To some extent, they find it extremely difficult to determine the validity and reliability of information obtained from electronic sources. Setting up a desktop computer for use, connecting a printer and a projector to it for classroom presentation can be a daunting task for some teachers. Beyond these core technology skills, are preservice teachers capable of changing default settings whenever the need arises? It is expected that they can use troubleshooting techniques to solve basic technical challenges they encounter using instructional technology but the question is are they capable? To do this, they will need the support of education policy makers, business, community and family.
Teachers need to leave their teacher preparation programmes with a solid understanding of how to use technology to support learning. Effective use of technology is not an optional add-on or a skill that we simply can expect teachers to pick up once they get into the classroom. Teachers need to know how to use technology to realize each state's learning standards from day one (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2017). Researchers in teacher education continue to state that teacher candidates are ill-prepared to teach with technology when they enter classrooms (Angeli & Valanides, 2009;Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010;Kay, 2006;Sang et al., 2010;Tondeur, Roblin, van Braak, Fisser, & Voogt, 2013), and that teacher candidates graduate from preparation programmes with little or no knowledge about how to use technology to facilitate student learning (Angeli & Valanides, 2009;Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). For the past couple of years, researchers in teacher education have used the conceptual framework of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to guide their understanding of the knowledge teachers require to effectively teach with technology (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Results reported from this large body of research (e.g., http://tpack.org) conclude that teacher preparation programmes should foster the development of teachers' TPACK throughout an entire preparation programme, and especially in content-specific courses (Polly et al., 2010;Tondeur et al., 2013;Voogt et al., 2012;Wetzel, Buss, Foulger, & Lindsey, 2014). It is for this reason that the researcher investigated about the core competencies of undergraduate students of a university in Ghana to ascertain if they indeed possess these qualities needed to succeed in industry after their programme of study. This is because employers hardly organize training for its employees to learn core ICT skills as that seems to be quite expensive and so would prefer to employ those who already possess such skills in order to cut down cost whilst getting the best out its employees. The findings of this study will be used to inform teacher training institutions to reorganize how to equip preservice teachers to integrate technology into teaching and learning after their training.

Methodology
In this study, the descriptive survey research design was used. This method was preferred because it included the collection of data so as to test the hypothesis or answer questions regarding the current status of the subject under study. The accessible population for this study comprised undergraduate students going through a four-year degree study programme at the university.
A simple random sampling technique was used to select three different programmes from the College of Education Studies. Then again, another simple random sampling was used to select 318 respondents from the three different programmes for this study. The intent of the study was made known to the respondents in detail before data was collected. Data collected from respondents were treated as confidential data and the participants were assured of anonymity with regards to the information given.
Questionnaires were personally administered by the researchers to ensure a better understanding of the questionnaire items and timely response to the items. This ensured maximum return rate of questionnaires. Respondents were given ample time to respond to the items on the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to give a general overview of the data. A carefully constructed questionnaire was used as the instrument for the collection of data. Questionnaires can be an effective means of measuring behaviour, attitudes, preferences, opinions and intentions of relatively large number of subjects more cheaply and quickly than other methods.

Results
The demographic characteristics of respondents is as shown in the Table 1    The study examined the views of respondents on their core technology skills which included saving a document to selecting and solving printing problems. As contained in Table 2, the mean value for respondents' dexterity on using a mouse to point, click and drag was 1.31 with its accompanying standard deviation of .735. The instrument used a 5-point Likert scale for its measurement. With this, it means that the respondents' level agreement was comparatively low. Saving a document after editing and/or formatting forms part of the core technology skills that students must possess for university work and life skills. The study ascertained how respondents are able to save a document both on a hard drive and other drives such as the USB. The mean for this yielded 1.62 with a standard deviation of .895. This means that on average, most respondents are unable to do well on this with the standard deviation being close to the mean. A lot of tech users have issues when it comes to troubleshooting common problems associated with the use of technology. In this study, the researcher verified how respondents will identify what to do when they have issues pertaining to computers freezing at some point in time during its use. It was revealed that they do well (mean=2.16) but the standard deviation was widely spread out around the mean (standard deviation=1.051). Again, the study investigated how respondents would be able to disconnect and/or set up a computer for use. This yielded a mean value of 2.42 which was encouraging. However, the standard deviation was widely spread out around the mean (1.176). Another issue worth investigating was installing programs or applications on computers. The mean for this produced a value of 1.61 with a standard deviation of 1.016. This was also on a low side with the standard deviation equally more spread out from the mean. These days, the use of the CD-ROM has been reduced considerably with the advent of so much improvement in technology and its use. It is turning out just like the use if the diskette, that CDs are also gradually becoming obsolete. With the ages of the respondents, starting up, shutting down, opening and closing a program, inserting and ejecting a disk or CD-ROM yielded a mean of 1.55 with a standard deviation of .860 closer to the mean. Opening a file from a pendrive or folder produced a mean of 1.68 with a standard deviation of .949 indicating consistency in their responses as far as this is concerned. Selecting printers and solving common printer problems also yielded a mean value of 2.54 which was very encouraging. On the other hand, the standard deviation was more spread out from the mean (1.096). On creating and maintaining backups, a mean of 1.90 was realised with a standard deviation of .956 showing consistent results around the mean. Creating and organising files had a mean of 1.56 with a standard deviation of .795 indicating a low possession of that skill.
Undergraduate students do a lot when it comes to assignments and presentations during their period of studies. Thus, the researcher wanted to verify their ability to use the word processor application for correspondence. The results from the analysis produced a mean of 2.20 with their consistency scores spread more widely around mean (standard deviation = 1.111). to be able to cut, copy and paste texts within an application and between applications had a standard deviation (.944) which was more consistent around the mean (1.88). Using a database to enter, edit, sort, manipulate and interpret data gave a mean of 2.20 (standard deviation =1.009). sending, replying and forwarding emails yielded a mean of 1.56 with its corresponding standard deviation being .893 showing more consistency around the mean. Accessing URLs and searching the web using variety of tools forms part of the everyday life of the university student. It is based on this premise that the researcher wanted to ascertain respondents' skills in this area. The results provided a mean value of 1.94 with a standard deviation of 1.051 indicating more a widely spread dispersion from the mean. Evaluating search engines and knowing which one to use produced a mean of 1.71 and a standard deviation of .860. Determining the validity and reliability of information obtained through a variety of electronic resources also produced a mean of 1.91 and a standard deviation of 1.83, consistency of that dexterity more spread from the mean. Using video projector for classroom presentation produced a mean value of 1.83 and a standard deviation of 1.028. Using electronic resources to locate information also produced a closer dispersion to the mean of 1.77 with a standard deviation of .981. The study further investigated the advanced technology skills of respondents. The results is presented in Table 3 above.
Going beyond basic technology skills, the study investigated into respondents' ability to change default settings of technology tools they often use daily. Of the 318 respondents, 74.2% (n=236) affirmed that they can change default settings. Beyond core technology skills, there is need to know some troubleshooting skills to solve basic technical problems when using instructional technology. With this, 63.5% (n=201) of respondents confirmed their ability to solve basic problems using troubleshooting techniques. As teachers, there is the need to learn to set up for presentations during lessons.
Respondents indicated that they have the skills enough (81.7%, n=260) to set up devices to make presentations. With regards to making configurations to connect a computer to a network, 77.9% (n=248) acknowledged that they can connect a computer to a network for services. On the issue of using cameras and scanners for imaging, 69.7% (n=217) indicated they are capable of doing that. Respondents asked the researcher more on customized tabs and styles when responding to the instrument. Researcher explained what it was and from the analysis, 81.1% (n=278) disagree that they are capable of customizing tabs. On performing advanced editing functions such as inserting page breaks, searching for and replacing texts, using the clipboard, etc, 76.7% (n=244) disclosed that they are incapable of inserting page breaks in documents. One of the essential skills for teachers to develop is to create multimedia presentations using PowerPoint. Of the 318 total respondents, 75.8% (n=241) indicated that they can develop multimedia presentations. The study investigated about respondents' ability to query databases and it came out that 71.4% (n=189) pointed out that they cannot do that. Again, 69.2% (n=220) disagreed to the fact that they can use mail merge to create and print form letters, envelopes and mailing labels. However, 77.4% (n=246) affirmed they can insert an object, graphic or audio file into MS Word or PowerPoint. Are respondents able to create and use a mailing list? This the researcher felt goes beyond core tech skills. Majority of respondents (69.8%, n=222) indicated that that is a gargantuan task for them to perform. On the issue of importing and editing a variety of graphic images from various sources, 53.1% (n=164) affirmed they can perform that task. To reduce, enlarge or crop a graphic and convert graphics from one file from one file format to another, 72.8% (n=230) of respondents reiterated that they can do this. Just like cropping and converting graphics into different formats, respondents agreed (66.1%, n=207) that they can record video footages and import/export them to and from a computer. In addition to this, respondents again affirmed (58.8%, n=184) that they can use emails, newsgroups or other web browser applications to obtain primary research from professionals, target audiences or companies. To create and manage classroom web page, 58.2% (n=184) of respondents disagreed to this assertion. With regards to downloading and decompressing files/images from the internet, 70.2% (n=223) admit that they can perform this task.

Discussion
Technology proficiency skills are the abilities and knowledge needed to perform basic specific tasks related to technology use. They are practical, and often related to information technology tasks. Essentially, results from this study indicated that crucial mouse skills of respondents were satisfactory when it comes to pointing, dragging and clicking. This was in line with Adams (2005) where in a study it came to light those basic skills in mouse usage was at acceptable levels by post-secondary school students. According to Coontz and Hanson (2004) in a study titled "Not so simple", it was found that students do so well when it comes to saving documents for future use. This study confirmed this assertion where respondents concurred indicating their ability to save documents on drives possibly for future use. Being able to identify and solve the problem of frozen computer during usage is an important skill most undergraduate students should possess in order to be successful in using technology in the classroom for instruction. In this study, a good number of respondents affirmed their ability to deal with such problems which confirmed what Weinert et al. (2020) found in their experimental study of social support during a computer freeze where most respondents indicated that they are capable of unfreezing a frozen computer during use. One important issue with technology use is one's ability to use the technology with little assistance. In this study, it was identified that respondents had the capacity to assemble and dissemble computers for use in various locations. Respondents showed average abilities for making installations of software on computers, something the researchers felt was going to be easy for students especially in this digital era. Issues that have got to do with technical abilities are mostly difficult for students and/or users from this side of the world because computing has not been introduced to this geographical area not too long ago. So for issues like shutting down and starting up a computer, opening and closing a computer program, opening a file from a flash drive or folder, inserting and ejecting a disk or CD-ROM which are deemed as the basic operations were all given average responses from this study. These are important skills pre-service teachers should acquire as part of the core tech skills to be able to meet the basic requirements for functioning properly in the 21 st century; they are all part of the 21 st century skills teachers must possess (UNESCO, 2016). In a study by Calvani et al. (2012) which studied young Italian teenagers' digital competence, like in this study, it was found that the teenagers possessed these skills that made them function better using technology for various tasks both at school and at home. In that same study, it was found that using word processors for correspondence with such skills like cutting and pasting information within or between applications was not an issue for the young Italians. Same was found in this present study with respondents also indicating a higher and better response when it comes to using a database for such operations such entering, editing, sorting, manipulating and interpreting data (ẋ=2.20). The present study further revealed that sending and receiving emails with attachments was not a challenge for respondents. This concurred with a study carried out by Carbonilla, Gorra and Bhati (2016) on students' perception on the use of technology in the classroom at higher institutions in the Philippines where results from the analysis of data revealed that students were capable of using computers to send and receive emails without challenges. However, determining validity and reliability of information obtained from electronic resources, accessing a specific web page, evaluating search engines and knowing which one to use as well as using a video projector for classroom presentations were rated average as far as respondents' competencies were concerned. Using electronic resources such as the www to locate information showed a similar response in this study.

Conclusions
On tackling the advanced technology skills, where knowledge and technical abilities needed to perform some specific tasks were investigated, an overwhelming majority of respondents pointed out that they were capable of changing the default settings of tech tools. This concurred with Lewis, Kaufman and Christakis (2008) study where in a study of college students' ability to change privacy settings in an online social network, it came to light that they could do this without much challenges. There is no gainsaying about the fact that basic troubleshooting skills are among the technical abilities teachers must possess so as to be able to deal with issues that may arise when using technology for instruction in the classroom. Respondents in this study indicated their technical abilities to deal with troubleshooting issues which contradicts what Saud et al. (2018) found in their study when they examined vocational educators and their level of understanding the importance of computer technology such as setup, maintenance and troubleshooting of computer. In that study, respondents revealed their inability to deal with troubleshooting problems to solve basic technical problems encountered when using instructional technology and therefore called for further training in this area. However, in that same study, just like in this study, it was affirmed that respondents could connect a computer to a projector as well as use imaging devices like cameras and scanners. Respondents indicated their inability to perform advanced formatting functions such as customized tabs, insert page breaks, query databases and sort the results, and using styles. This contradicts what Gaither et al. (2017) found where in a study, it was found that students being trained for future work environment indicated that they possessed advanced skills enough to compete in a changing workforce. It was however indicated in this study that respondents are able to develop and present electronic multimedia, record video footage and import/export to and from a computer, use emails to reach targeted audiences, download and decompress files from the internet, create a paragraph from a spreadsheet data as well as insert objects into MS Word or PowerPoint which concurs with most of the findings by Carbonilla Gorra and Bhati (2016) in their study. Respondents in this study however indicated they are unable to create and manage classroom webpages. From the foregoing discussions based on the results obtained from the data analyzed in this study, it is recommended that institutions pay more attention to crafting courses to equip students with advanced technology skills enough to succeed in their chosen teaching career.