ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND TEACHERS' TEACHING STYLE IN SHAPING STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IMO STATE

Abstract

This study examined role of social media and teachers teaching style in shaping students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Imo State. The study was guided by four research questions and four hypotheses. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 7477 students in the 20 public secondary schools in Imo State. The sample size for the study was 379 students. Taro Yamane’s formulae was used to determine the sample size. The study tested the reliability of the instrument through the adoption of trial test using 20 secondary school students in Anambra State. Cronbach Alpha was used to test the reliability of instrument. The instrument yielded coefficient reliability scores of 0.867 and 0.877 for WhatsApp and YouTube while 0.875 and 0.876 for student-centered and teacher-centered teaching styles. The researcher and two assistants distributed the questionnaire to the respondents. Mean ratings and standard deviation were used to analyze the questionnaire items. The decision rule for interpretation of the mean scores of the data was based on 2.50 as the cut off mark. Any mean score from 2.50 and above were accepted while the mean ratings below 2.50 was taken as disagreed. One sample T-test was used to test the hypotheses. When the P value is 0.05 and below, the alternative hypothesis is accepted while the null hypothesis is rejected. However, when the P value is above 0.05, the alternative hypothesis is rejected while the null hypothesis is accepted. The study found that WhatsApp facilitates effective communication between teachers and students, enabling the timely sharing of study materials, updates, and participation in academic discussion groups. YouTube, on the other hand, provides visual and interactive learning experiences through educational videos that simplify difficult topics, reinforce concepts, and aid exam preparation. Combined with both student-centered and teacher-centered teaching styles, these tools offer a balanced instructional approach encouraging active participation, creativity, personalized learning, structured content delivery, and discipline, ultimately improving students’ academic outcomes. The study recommended among others that teachers should integrate WhatsApp into their teaching strategies by creating academic groups for timely communication, distribution of learning materials, and fostering collaborative discussions among students to enhance engagement and understanding.