Evaluation of face book as a medium of social networking on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Starehe constituency, Nairobi county, Kenya

Abstract

The potential for using Social Networking Sites to further the goals of education is huge, and teachers are making the invasion into the world of online social networking for educational purposes. However, educators cannot presuppose that because Social Networking are timely technology, they will necessarily engage students and improve their’ achievement. It is in this regard that the proposed study sought to investigate the effectiveness of the use of Face book on students’ achievement among Secondary school in Starehe Constituency. The study was modelled in three theories: Flow theory, Uses and gratification and media dependency. These theories assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating social media into their own lives and that audiences are responsible for choosing social media to meet their needs. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative research methodology which utilized descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised 11 public secondary schools in Starehe constituency Nairobi County. Probability sampling was used to select 6 public secondary schools. A sample of 90 students and 30 teachers was used. Stratified random sampling was used to determine the students to be studied. The rationale for doing so was to ensure equitable representation from the population in the sample. The research instruments for data collection were questionnaires for the students and teachers and interview guides. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data further SPSS version 21 was used for statistical tests to analyze data, tabulate report and charts. Findings indicated that students and teachers in Starehe Constituency are active Face book users and are open to integrate Face book into their academic lives and perceive benefits through enhanced communication, interaction, and flexibility in curriculum content delivery.