Thursday 14 January 2016

IMPACT OF ICT ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

ICT AND  ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 


CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study
During the last two decades higher education institutions have invested heavily in information and communication technologies (ICT). ICT has had a major impact in the university context, in organisation and in teaching and learning methods.
One puzzling question is the effective impact of these technologies on student achievement and on the returns of education. Many academic researchers have tried to answer this question at the theoretical and empirical levels. They have faced two main difficulties. On one hand, student
performance is hard to observe and there is still confusion about its definition. On the other hand, ICT is evolving technologies and their effects are difficult to isolate from their environment.
There is no standard definition for student performance. The standard approach focuses on achievement and curricula, how students understand the courses and obtain their degrees or their marks. However, a more extensive definition deals with competencies, skills and attitudes learned through the education experience. The narrow definition allows the observation of the outcomes of any change in higher education, while the more extensive definition needs a more complex strategy of observation and a focus on the labour market. The outcomes of education are mainly validated in the labour market.
The impact of ICT on learning is currently in relation to use of digital media, primarily computers and internet to facilitate teaching and learning. ICTs are the technologies used in conveying, manipulation and storage of data by electronic means, they provide an array of powerful tools that may help in transforming the present isolated teacher-centered and text-bound classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments.
To meet these challenges, learning institutions must embrace the new technologies and appropriate ICT tools for learning. The relationship between the use of ICT and student performance in higher education is not clear, and there are contradictory results in the literature. Earlier economic research has failed to provide a clear consensus concerning the effect on students’ achievement.
Starting from this point, the aims of this paper are two-fold: first, we summarise the main findings of this extensive literature and second, we give two complementary explanations on the contradictory results. Our first explanation is that most of the literature has focused on direct effects of ICT while it is more appropriate to look at the indirect effects through the traditional channels. Since student performance is mainly explained by a student’s characteristics, educational environment and teachers’ characteristics, ICT may have an impact on these determinants and consequently the outcome of education. The differences observed in the performances of students are thus more related to the differentiated impact of ICT on the standard determinants.
The direct link between ICT use and students’ performance has been the focus of extensive literature during the last two decades. Several studies have tried to explain the role and the added value of these technologies in classrooms and on student’s performances. The first body of literature explored the impact of computer uses. Since the Internet revolution, there has been a shift in the literature that focuses more on the impact of online activities: use of Internet, use of educative online platforms, digital devices, use of blogs and wikis, etc.
Looking at the link between ICT and student performance seems nowadays a misunderstanding of the role and nature of these technologies. In fact, since ICT is general purpose technology (GPT), it needs to be specified in order to meet the needs expressed by students and to be adapted to the local context and constraints (Antonelli, 2003; Ben Youssef, 2008). A variety of models of usages can be identified leading to the same outcome. ICT brings widened possibilities for the learning processes that are independent from place and space. ICT also allows more flexible (asynchronous) and more personalised learning. It offers new methods of delivering higher education. Taking advantage of these opportunities needs a profound change in the organisation of the higher education system.
Economic literature in the last decade has shown that technological change, on its own, does not lead to any change in economic performance. Among the most popular explanations of this paradox – huge investment in ICT without any economic performance – the complementarity thesis seems to be the most accepted nowadays (Greenan and Mairesse, 2004). Old methods need old educative technologies and new technologies need new organizational innovations. There is an agreement between researchers that the usage of ICT requires the usage of new organizational designs and a shift in organisation. Higher education is not an exception and needs a huge organisational change.





1.2       Theoretical background
There are several theories that have heavily influenced the development of educational software towards learning:
Cognitive theories (Kohler, 1926)
Cognitive theories lay emphasis on the cognitive aspect of learning including information
processing models. They entail how people understand materials based on these principles:
1.    Individual’s aptitude and capacity to learn, based on psychometrics and testing Learning styles
2.    The basis of the educational approach known as constructivism, thus emphasizing the role of the learner in constructing his own view or model of the material.
3.    Gestalt theories were proposed by Wertheimer, Kohler & Koffka (1925), using cognitive therapy, from individual’s perception to problem-solving ability. Kohler (1925) posited that problem solving ability involved mental combination and recombination of various elements of a problem until a structure that solves the problem is achieved.
Students’ Academic Performance
Piaget’s developmental theory (1970) on the other hand, focuses on the maturational factors affecting understanding. Piaget’s theory of intellectual development is a plea that children be allowed to do their own learning using good pedagogy and thus present the child with situations in which he himself experiments in the broadest terms. Accommodation versus Assimilation dialect is the part most useful for understanding mature learners.
Behavioral theory (Skinner, 1938)
This theory had the most influence from the work of American Psychologist Burheus F. Skinner.
Skinner believed that people can learn more effectively if their environment is carefully controlled. He developed the principles of operant (behavior) conditioning, which basically stated that; “if the occurrence of an operant is followed by the presentation of a reinforcing stimulus, the strength is increased” (Skinner, 1938).
Social learning theory (Bandura, 1963)

This theory as proposed by Albert Bandura (1963) focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concept as observational learning, imitation and modeling. It serves as a bridge between the Behaviourist learning and the Cognitive theories, which maintained that learning has to be represented by a permanent change in behavior (Behaviorist); and that cognition plays a role in learning from perception to problem-solving ability.
Constructivist theory (Seymour, 1980)
This was backed up by the work of Seymour Papert (1980) that proved Computers as useful in higher learning. Papert’s view of the importance of motivational engagement of the learner contrasts sharply with Skinner’s who although recognizing this influence, consider it unnecessary for instruction.

In this view, the learners as active participants are involved in structuring their own learning
experiences. Papert’s work with Piaget who emphasized the way in which knowledge is
structured using computers are organized as well as how the learners’ own perception of their
prior experiences perform the knowledge structure. Thus, the importance of how a learner relates
new experiences to existing knowledge becomes paramount.

1.3       Statement of problem
             
For many years, educational researchers have maintained an interest in the effective prediction of students’ academic achievement at school. The prediction and explanation of academic achievement and the examination of
the factors relating to the academic achievement are topics of greatest importance in different educational levels. Studies have shown that prior academic performance is an important predictor of performance at other levels of education. Similarly, cognitive ability was found as the strongest
predictor of academic performance. However, some studies confirm that the correlation between cognitive ability and academic performance tends to decline as students progress in the educational system.
Thus, many researchers have emphasized the need to include non-
cognitive factors such as personality, motivation, learning strategies and beliefs in investigations of individual differences in academic achievement. In other words, contemporary researchers are interested in whether or not
other individual differences than cognitive ones (for example; intelligence, cognitive ability) may be used to predict academic achievement. The present study aims at determining the predictors of academic achievement of student ICT teachers (formerly called computer teachers) with different
learning styles.
The direct link between ICT use and students’ study habit and academic performance has been the focus of extensive literature during the last two decades. Some of them help students with their learning by improving the
communication between them and the instructors (Valasidou and Bousiou, 2005). Leuven et al. (2004) stated that there is no evidence for a relationship between increased educational use of ICT and students’ performance. In fact, they find a consistently negative and marginally significant relationship between ICT use and some student achievement measures.
In support to these, some students may use ICT to increase their leisure time and have less time to study. Online gaming and increased communication channels do not necessarily mean increased achievement.
On the other hand, Abdulla Y. Al-Hawaj, Wajeeh Elali, and E.H. Twizell (2008), state that ICT has the potential to transform the nature of education: Where and how learning takes place and the roles of students and
teachers in the learning process.
Karim and Hassan (2006) noted the exponential growth in digital information, which changes the way students perceive study and reading and in how printed materials are used to facilitate study.
Based on the extended usage of ICTs in education the need appeared to unravel the myth that surrounds the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as an aid to teaching and learning, and the impact it has on students’ academic performance in Biology in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State.
Therefore, the present paper aims to examine how familiar are the students of the department of (Curriculum Studies and Teaching) CST/Biology in Secondary schools in Calabar Municipality. The research conducted also aims to reveal the possible relationship between the use of ICTs and students’ study habits intended for improved academic performance.
1.4       Purpose of the study
The main purpose of this study was to find out the influence of ICT on students’ academic performance in Biology in Secondary Schools in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State. Specifically, the study is aim at findings out whether;
i.          ICT has any direct effect on students academic performance.
ii.          ICT as a tool for learning and students’ academic performance.
iii.         ICT as a tool for teaching and students’ academic performance
1.5       Research questions
            The following research questions were posed to guide the study.
i.          How does ICT relate with students academic performance?
ii.          How does ICT as a tool for learning influence students academic performance?
iii.         How does ICT as a tool for teaching influence students academic performance?

1.6       Statement of hypotheses
            In order to carryout the research effectively, the under listed hypotheses were tested. 
i.          There is no significant relationship between ICT and students academic performance.
ii.          There is no significant relationship between ICT as a tool for learning and students academic performance
iii.         There is no significant relationship between ICT as a tool for teaching and students academic performance

1.7       Research assumptions
            This study is based on the assumption listed below:
i.              The sample population is a true representative of the study population.
ii.             The variables under study are measurable.
iii.            The variable under study are normally distributed.
iv.            The instrument used for data collection is valid and reliable. 

1.8       Significance of the study
It is the researcher’s view that the findings of the study will be of immense benefits to students, parents, policy makers, planners of educational program, students, classroom, instruction and the society in general.
        The study will be useful to parent, since the early child education and its consequence to academic performance of the child will encourage the parent to help cultivate productive habit among their children of early stages in life. The study will be of significance to the administrator because they will see the need for considering
students academic and physical environment for her understanding and educational enlistment.


The research will also equip the stakeholders in education with some of the problems militating against academic performance that are related to attitude and study habit.

The educational administrators will see the need for a rich or conducive environment that will facilitate healthy study techniques, it will help the college administration to design and implement the policies to improve the students’ performance and the quality of education by changing the attitude of students towards learning,
facilitating students and improving the teaching procedures.

The study will also be useful to the students because of the various study techniques pinpointed. The students will note other factors that influence their academic performance such as study techniques may now be understood and appreciated as relevant factors.

The study will as well be helpful to students in the junior secondary schools to examine and adjust to the problems of poor academic performance by adopting positive attitude towards their study and not to waste time over what they have to do. This study will help the junior secondary school students to identify the effective study
methods and skills that could be used on the learning environment. The study will also complement as well as supplement similar researches undertaken in the area of inquiry and serve as a useful reference for academic purposes.

1.9       Delimitation of the study
            The study was carried out in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State only. This study intend  to study the influence of ICT on students academic performance in Biology in secondary schools in Calabar Municipality.
            Only secondary schools within Calabar Municipality are studied with a sample of only six (6) selected out of all the others in the study area.
            The study is limited to a population of twenty (20) students’ from each of the schools. 

1.10     Limitation of study  
            In the course of the study the researcher encountered certain problems. Due to limited time and funds, the study was restricted to a particular section of Calabar Municipality of Cross River State.
            At the time this research was being carried out, schools were on frequent breaks. The researcher had to make use of the little times, met with the pupils and the school heads.
            Finance was another issue that disturbed the execution of this project. The biting economic situation could not allow the researcher carryout the work as fast as it had to be done.

1.11     Definition of terms
            In order to assist an understanding of this piece of work, the researcher have defined the following terms in the sense of they are each used in this project.
ICT:
Performance: An action in which excellence or superiority depend primarily on abstract mental ability. Any action requiring the manipulation of abstracts, concepts or mental manipulation of any sort.
Academic:
Influence:

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