SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATES IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of social media usage on the academic
performance of undergraduate science education students in public universities in
Ebonyi State, Nigeria. An ex-post facto survey research design was adopted for the
investigation. Four research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were
tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The population comprised 2,876 undergraduate
science education students drawn from the Faculty of Education in the two public
universities in Ebonyi State Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki, and Alex
Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI). Using the Taro Yamane (1967)
formula, a sample of 364 students was drawn using proportionate stratified sampling
and simple random sampling techniques, of which 354 instruments were retrieved and
analysed. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-structured 18-item
questionnaire (Social Media Usage and Academic Performance Questionnaire,
SMAPQ) and an academic performance proforma. Face and content validity were
established by three experts in Educational Measurement and Evaluation, Computer
Education, and Science Education respectively. Internal consistency was determined
using the Cronbach alpha method and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.91. Data were
analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and independent
samples t-test at the 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed that: science education
undergraduates were undecided on the influence of information overload from social
media sites (SMS) on their academic performance; there was a significant gender
difference in the mean ratings of male and female undergraduates regarding information
overload influence (p < 0.05), with males reporting higher susceptibility; and both male
and female students agreed that peer interactions through SMS positively influenced
their academic performance with no significant gender difference. Based on the
findings, it is recommended that science educators develop structured social media
engagement protocols that leverage peer interaction benefits while implementing
strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of information overload on student academic
performance.
Keywords: Social Media Usage, Peer Interaction, Academic Performance, Science
Education, Public Universities
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