The Effect of Social Networks on the Achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Basic Science
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of the study is to unravel the impact of social network on students’ academic achievement in Basic science as a subject in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.
The specific purposes of the study are to;
(i). find out the extent to which social network influences gender performance of students in Basic science
(ii). identify the most visited social networking sites by Basic science students
(iii). determine the students’ purpose for using the identified social network sites by Basic science students.
(iv). find out the amount of time Basic science students invest into social network sites
(v). identify the Information Communication Technologies mostly used by Basic science Students in secondary schools for social networking.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Concept of Social network
Social network is that means that employs mobile and web based technology to create highly interactive platforms via which individuals and community share, co-create, discuss and modifies users’ generated contents (Kietzmannn, 2012).
Social network is a phrase being tossed around a lot. It is a website that does not just give you information but interact with you while giving you information. It is a group of internet based application that allows the creation and exchange of users generated content. It is easy to confuse social network with social news because we often refer to members of the news as the media. Adding to it, that social news site is also social network site.
Social network refers to the means of interaction among people in which they create, share, exchange and comment among themselves in different networks. Andreas and Micheal (2000) are of the opinion that social network is a group of internet based application that builds on the ideological foundation and allows the creation and exchange of users generated content.
Social network has become one of the major channels of chatting through platforms such as 2go, Facebook, Whatapp, BBM Chat etc. There has been an increase in the mobile social network which has created new opportunity for browsing.
The Concept of Social Networking
Young (2010) referred to social networking as the process of finding friends and managing friendships through the internet. Stan (2012) defined social networking as the use of websites or other online technologies to communicate with people and share information resources.
According to Anderson (2013), social networking is defined as the act of exchanging information, personal, or public through various forms of technology such as the internet, cell phones and other services. It is the way that many individuals make new friends and keep connected with existing ones through the use of the internet (ChristiaNet, 2012).
Concept of Basic science
Basic science as an academic field of study explores many aspects of the human condition. It examines the notion of freedom, collectivity, liberty, justice, as well as how individuals interact with one another when their interests are at stake.
In the academic world, the study of basic science can take some divergent paths. One such path is political science, which helps to analyze the study of basic science in a form that seeks to analyze the institutional hermeneutics of governing structures. Political theory is another branch of the study of basic science from a conceptual point of view. It seeks to analyze how different thinkers conceived of basic science in a theoretical point of view and contracts these different understandings.
Empirical Analysis
Several studies have investigated influence of social networking on secondary school students. Although, it is said that active learning from reading books is better than passive learning, such as watching television (Shabi and Udofia, (2009, as cited in Agwu and Kalu, (2011). Notably, some researchers have observed that the decline in the reading habits of students is as a result of technological innovations such as social networking. According to Agwu and Kalu (2011), the abuse new technologies contribute to students’ poor reading. They opined that in this era of information and communication technology, the general orientation of young people has unconsciously changed from reading and the love of books to these new technologies. They further emphasized that people now live in the generation of Ipod, Laptop, Ipone, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, thereby reading has been literally sacrificed on the altar of modern technologies.
Shabi and Udofia (2009, as cited in Agwu and Kalu, 2011) reported that in this age where internet browsing and playing with funky handsets seem to be the trend among Nigerian youth reading a good book in a quiet corner of the school library or in the home has become an archaic idea.
Marsh (2012) noted that social network sites like every good things, has a flip side as well. Sites such as facebook, Myspace, 2go, whatsapp, can also have a negative effect. He relented that social networking are time-consuming as students are gradually becoming addicted to them. The hours and time spent on these sites is enough to be used to acquire knowledge rather such study and useful time is spent on social network sites. This is the reason Bature (2011 as cited Mbachu, 2011), pointed out that Nigeria is not a reading nation, that statistics of illiteracy ratio (those who cannot read) and those who refused to read continue to increase on a daily basis.
Karpinski (2009) reported in her findings that the majority of students who use facebook every day are underachieving by as much as an entire grade compared with those who shun the site, facebook users may feel socially successful in cyberspace but they are more likely to perform poorly in exams. Some empirical studies have been conducted such as Pierce and Vaca (2007) who carried out a study to examine the differences in academic achievement between teen users and non-users of various communication technologies. 517 high school students were sampled, the ages of the participants ranged from 14-20 years. The sample consisted of 201 males and 316 females. This study was purely survey research. The purpose of the study was to look at teens’ use of social networking sites, cell phones, and instant messaging (IM) to determine if there are differences in academic achievements between users and non-users of those communication devices. The results reviewed that there is a difference in grade fluctuation between those who had Myspace account, IM account and those with a cell phone and text messaging.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The research design in this study is survey research design. An attempt was made to determine the opinion of respondents on the impact of social network on students’ academic achievement in Basic science from senior secondary schools in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.
Population and Sample
The target population for this study consists of every student offering Basic science in all the public senior secondary schools in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
However, only three schools were randomly sampled for ease of administration, retrieval, collection and analysis of data. A list of all the public secondary schools offering Basic science at the senior secondary schools in Akure North Local Government Area were drawn and copied on pieces of paper. These were folded up and dropped into a container from which the samples schools were randomly selected one after the other with the eyes of the selector covered.
The selected schools are as follows:
- Alamo Grammar School, Itaogbolu
- Anglican Grammar School, Iju-Itaogbolu
- Oba-Ile High School, Oba-Ile
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Analysis
The findings of the study are presented here under the following sub-sections in accordance with the research questions earlier prepared and hypotheses set for the study
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The research work was carried out in order to examine the impact of social network on students’ academic achievement in Basic science in senior secondary school level in general and Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State in particular. Three schools were randomly selected in the area with a total number of 100 students.
The researcher visited the schools and personally administered the questionnaire with the assistance of the class teacher. From the findings, it was discovered that social network have both positive and negative impacts on the academic achievement of students in Basic science. It was observed that the use of social network among Basic science students and their academic achievement, comparison was made and concluded that, the academic achievement of Basic science students suffer set back. However, if Basic science students use social network judiciously, it will enhance students’ academic achievement.
It was also revealed that, there is a difference in the performance of male and female students in Basic science as a result of their use of social network. It was observed that, female students use social network more than their male counterparts. The implication is that, the female students need to be closely watched for better performance than their male counterparts.
Conclusion
This study showed that secondary school Basic science students in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria, appear to be different in the use of social network sites as a result of gender. Secondary school students visit 2go, Facebook and WhatsApp when compared to other social networking sites via their handsets or GSM.
Secondary school Basic science students of the sampled schools to a large extent visit these social networking sites to relate with their peers as well as for communication. They also use them for assignments (academic purpose) but far much lesser.
Secondary school Basic science students of the schools studied prefer the use of GSM/Cell phones in accessing social networking sites than Laptops, Desktop Computers and Ipad. Social network do have both positive and negative impact on students offering Basic science but due to the misuse of social network, the students’ academic achievement suffers set back. Most of the students are prone to use of short words called abbreviations and wrong spellings
Recommendation
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are offered as elixir. The stakeholders (school authorities, teachers, parents and guardians) should pay more attention to the female folk. Both male and female Basic science students need to be guided properly and informed on the vulnerability they may face on these sites if not utilized in moderation.
School teachers can introduce a group discussion forum on these networking sites for the students to contribute positively on different topics of interest; this will keep them active in a productive way.
Teachers, parents, guardians and school management should teach students the importance of prioritizing their needs and visit social networking sites with good intents rather than for ulterior motives. They should be encouraged to explore the potential benefits of social network sites.
Parents, teachers, school management and Basic science bodies should monitor the students from falling to the dangers of wrong use of these social network sites. Schools teachers should also make sure that when students are in class they pay attention to teaching and not distracted by some social networking sites.
Parents, teachers and school management need also to teach the students about time management. They should put a limitation to students activities while at school and at home so that they will not fritter away useful time on irrelevant activities like chatting.
School management and teachers should checkmate Basic science students’ use of GSM/Cell phones especially during school hours to ensure that students are not carried away by use of these technological devices. As some stakeholders have purposed, students should be discouraged from the use of GSM in schools. Most of them use these social network for ulterior purposes and this hinders them from attaining academic excellence.
REFERENCES
- Agwu, G. O and Kalu, A. U. (2011). Information for all: Towards promoting reading culture and readership for national development in Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Library Association.
- Akintunde, S. A. (2001). Promoting reading culture through Christian Literature. Retrieved from http://www.dspace.unyos.edu.ng
- Anderson, A. (2013). What is social networking. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/article/what-is-socialnetworking.
- Arshin (2010). The effects of social networking sites like facebook. Retrieved from http://www.studymode.com/indexandroid.html
- Haradambos, M., Holborn, M. and Heal, R. (2008). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. London: Harper Collins.
- Ibrahim, L. (2012). Social network and its influence on students’ performance. Jamb news, 3 (21), 4-5.
- Karpanski, A. (2009). Facebook fans do worse in exams. Retrieved from http://www.mathhope.edu/stats/articles/facebook-pa.pdf
- Mbachu, G. (2011). Study reveals the extent to which teenagers rely on social network and mobile technology. Retrieved from http://ezinneArticles.com/?expert=HarveyMCEwan.
- Pierce, T. and Vaca, R. (2009). Distracted: Academic achievement differences between teen users and non-users of myspace and other communication
