Social Networks and Students’ Performance in Secondary Schools: Lessons from an Open Learning Centre, Kenya
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Date
2015
Authors
Muhingi, Wilkins Ndege
Mutavi, Teresia
Kokonya, Donald
Simiyu, Violet Nekesa
Musungu, Ben
Obondo, Anne
Kuria, Mary Wangari
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Knowledge Sharing Platform
Abstract
Given the known positive and negative effects of uncontrolled social networking among secondary school
students worldwide, it is necessary to establish the relationship between social network sites and academic
performances among secondary school students. This study, therefore, aimed at establishing the relationship
between secondary school students’ access to and use of social network sites at an Open Learning Centre in
Kenya. The centre was located about 30km South West of Nairobi, the capital city. This site was selected
because information technology was the designed mode of delivery of the courses at the school, hence, high
exposure of the students to quantitative social networking among the young, knowledge and information-thirsty
population. The study sought opinions of key informants, parents, teachers and policy-makers in Kenya at the
school compound. In addition, it investigated the behaviour of the students to generate both quantitative and
qualitative data. Findings in this study showed that secondary school students in Kenya were much more
vulnerable to the adverse effects of social networks in a manner consistently and concurrently similar to that
found elsewhere in the worldwide. This included conversion of academic into recreational sessions and
subsequent poor academic performances among the majority of the secondary school students in Kenya.
It is, therefore, necessary for the schools to vet, supervise, monitor, control, censor and restrict secondary school
students’ access to available information on the SNS in Kenya to enable the students to concentrate on academic
excellence. The government, on the other hand, should develop a learner-friendly policy to curb the downward
spiraling of academic performances in secondary schools in Kenya attributable to uncensored access to social
network sites.
Description
A research article published in Journal of Education and Practice
Keywords
Social networks, secondary students’, academic performance, social network sites
Citation
Muhingi, W. N., Mutavi, T., Kokonya, D., Simiyu, V. N., Musungu, B., Obondo, A., & Kuria, M. W. (2015). Social Networks and Students' Performance in Secondary Schools: Lessons from an Open Learning Centre, Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(21), 171-177.