Predictive Influence of ICT Utilization on Homework Completion of Secondary School Students in Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Homework completion that is guided by the use of ICT is an area of education research that is less often focused. This kind of research is especially needed at the secondary school level, as students at this level (relative to students at the elementary level) are expected to engage more with homework, since research have identified a strong association with academic achievement among secondary school students, relative to those at the elementary level.  

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the predictive influences of ICT utilization on the extent of homework completion of secondary school students in Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria. The study equally adopted the basic premises of the decomposed theory of planned behaviour to explain secondary school students’ motivation for utilizing ICTs in their extent of homework completion.   

Methodology: A survey research design as well as a multistage sampling approach was  adopted to elicit data from 200 senior secondary school students in Nsukka Education Zone. 

Results: The level of ICT literacy, students’ attitude (e.g., perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use and compatibility), subjective norms (pressures from peers and family members and teacher’s supervision) and self-efficacy were important factors mediating the influence of students’ ICT use and their extent of homework completion in the secondary schools that were studied. Technology (e.g., poor Internet network) and resource (e.g., lack of time) facilitating conditions were equally impactful on students’ extent of homework completion in the secondary schools that were studied.

Unique Contribution: The identification of the predictors influencing the relationship between students’ ICT utilization and the extent of their homework completion could point to the ICT educational need areas as well as suggest solutions to solving the identified problems.     

Conclusion: The findings from the study have provided important insights into the motivations explaining why secondary students intend to use ICT for starting and completing their homework.