Title: ICT Integration in Uganda's Public Universities: A Qualitative Study of Academic Staff Perceptions Through the Lens of Job Demands and Resources
Authors: Boonabaana Caroline, Ass. Prof. Grace Milly Kibanja, Dr Imelda Kemeza (PhD)
Volume: 10
Issue: 3
Pages: 100-110
Publication Date: 2026/03/28
Abstract:
This study examined how academic staff in Uganda's public universities perceive the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. The guiding research question was: How do academic staff perceive the use of ICTs in teaching and learning within Uganda's public universities through the lens of job demands and resources? A qualitative, interpretivist research design was adopted, with data collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 academic staff-eight from each of two purposively selected public universities. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) reflexive thematic analysis, involving transcript familiarisation, segment-level coding, and systematic category and theme construction. Four themes emerged: (1) ICT as a pedagogical enabler with conditional value; (2) ICT as a source of expanded academic work and hidden labour; (3) individual-institutional ICT resource misalignment; and (4) uneven ICT capacity and the shift toward an ecosystem perspective. Findings revealed that academic staff simultaneously recognised ICT's instructional affordances and experienced it as a source of expanded, often unrecognised work demands. The study makes a theoretical contribution by proposing a contextualised extension of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model for digital higher education in developing-country contexts, wherein resource alignment-rather than resource provision alone-functions as the critical mediating mechanism shaping academic staff perceptions and ICT integration sustainability.