The Use of Information and Communication Technology to Teach: Assessment of Secondary School Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

In today's society, technology has become a vital aspect of economic and social development; as a result, 21st-century students should try to be more innovative by utilizing a variety of information and communication technology (ICT) facilities. The goal of this study was to find out the views of secondary school students about using information and communication technology in economics classrooms. Three research questions led the investigation. The study used a descriptive research design. The study's population consists of 1675 senior secondary students studying economics in Onitsha metropolis, Anambra State, Nigeria. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used to draw a sample of 432 senior secondary two (SS2) students, with 238 (55 percent) from public and 194 (45 percent) from private secondary schools. Data was collected using a 27-item structured questionnaire. Analysis of data was done through descriptive and inferential statistics. A p-value that is greater or equal to 0.05 was taken as significant. The findings revealed that the students agreed that the ICT facilities listed could be used to teach economics, though the frequency of use by economics teachers was poor, especially in public schools since the result showed a significant difference in favour of the private schools. On the whole, the economics students were of the view that ICT facilities should be employed in teaching economics as it makes the learning of the concepts easier and the topics become clearer. Some recommendations were made based on the findings.