A Mixed-Methods Study of Secondary Student and Teacher Attitudes towards Mobile Education Apps in Lagos

Abstract

With the advent of smartphones, laptops, and other various portable devices, the ability to incorporate technology into the classroom has increased dramatically in the last few decades. This study evaluates the perceptions and attitudes of both students and teachers in relation to mobile apps that assist in classroom learning. The research used a mixed-methods approach that collected demographic information and conducted qualitative interviews to determine the perceptions of mobile apps to students and teachers. Cross-sectional data was collected from participants and analyzed for associations. 43 students and 6 teachers were recruited and interviewed. The participants were asked about their thoughts on mobile educational apps, and their interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and 5 themes were identified for students: barriers to educational app adoption, barriers to continued use of education apps, tracking progress, tracking of progress, and goal setting. For teachers, themes identified included factors to mobile app use, and criteria used for mobile app selection. These findings may provide school boards and scientists with insights on how to best develop educational apps to fit the needs of students.