Effect of Learner Collaboration on Facebook Social Networking Platform on Academic Achievement in Computer Studies in Public Secondary Schools, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

The adoption of Facebook Social Networking Platform (FSNP) as an instructional tool has been found to have an impact on learning outcomes. This is owed to the platform’s technology affordances that support collaborations which in turn aid learner engagement, content sharing, learner-learner, learner-content and learner-teacher interactions. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of learner collaboration on Facebook Social Networking Platform on academic achievement in Computer Studies in public secondary schools, Nairobi City County, Kenya. The objective was to assess the difference in learner academic achievement between learners who collaborate on FSNP and those who do not. The study targeted students in form three taking Computer Studies and their teachers. Quantitative data was obtained using pre-test and post-tests scores and qualitative data using questionnaires, observation and interview schedules. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 250 students from three boys’ and three girls’ public secondary schools which offer Computer Studies as an examinable subject at national level. Descriptive statistics computed included frequencies, means, variances and standard deviation. Inferential statistics were computed using t tests. Findings revealed a statistically significant differences in learner academic achievements between learners who collaborated on FSNP and those who did not; t statistic [t (155) = 12.58, p = .00].  The study concluded that learner collaboration on FSNP has a positive effect on learner academic achievement among Computer Studies students and that when engaged in elaborate tasks. The study recommends adoption of social networking platforms (SNPs) for learner collaboration in schools in Kenya.