MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN TEACHING ICT IN PRIMARY

SCHOOLS: THE CASE OF CHIPEMBERE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HARARE
ZIMBABWE

BY

ALBERT CHADIRA

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED

EDUCATION IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION HONOURS DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE.

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

P. O. BOX 9055 GWERU

ZIMBABWE

SUPERVISOR: DR CHAURAYA

JUNE 2023

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 CHAPTER ONE

THE PROBLEM AND ITS CONTEXT

1.0 Introduction

Information and communication technology (ICT) development connected the world into a
global village. It has transformed the way economies transact by bringing convenience in
marketing, education, research, and development (Bilbao-Osorio and Dutta, 2012). The
education sector embraced ICT in teaching and learning. This chapter introduces use of ICT,
specifically social media platforms in schools.

1.2 Background to the Study

Majority of instructors and learners use social media as a common teaching and learning tool.
According to Smith et al. (2010) studies point to the fact that the education sector adopted social
networking technologies in teaching and learning to compliment face to face learning. ICT and
virtual learning became relevant and popular following shutdown of schools during the covid19
period (2019 – 2021) when the world closed all learning institutions. Use of ICT brought
convenience in education and other sectors of economy and human life.

Zanamwe et al (2013) carried out research on use of social networking technologies in

Zimbabwe but did not look at the use of these platforms in teaching junior classes in primary
schools. Research on the challenges and perceptions towards use of social media in education
has been carried out in developed countries; however, there is limited knowledge on use of social
media in primary school education in developing countries, Zimbabwe included. This study
explored the use of social media platforms by learners in primary schools.

Boyd and Ellison (2007) posit that there is lack of research that explores the link between Social
Networking Sites use and education. While there is a lot of information on use of social
networking sites, few studies have been conducted in developing nations specifically in primary
school teaching and learning. The National School Board Association (NSBA) (2007)
acknowledged lack of research-based discussion of social networking sites in education.
Additionally, Shrem et al. (2011) suggest that critics of social networking sites characterize them

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as portals for antisocial and unproductive behaviour. To date there are knowledge gaps on the
perceptions of primary school learners on use of social media in teaching and learning.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Majority of learners in Zimbabwe spend more time on social media platforms even though
social media is criticised exposing children to cybercriminals, antisocial behaviour, and misuse
of the different ICT platforms. Previous studies have extensively explored the use social media
in tertiary education and society in general. Regardless of extensive use of virtual learning across
the whole education sector during and post-covid19 era, there is limited research on level of use
and acceptance of social media platforms in primary school teaching and learning in Zimbabwe.
This study explored the use of social media platforms in teaching junior classes in primary
schools. There is evidence to suggest that students are not using social media platforms for
learning purposes even though the virtual world is rich in educational material for all levels of
learning.

1.4 Research Objectives

(i) To assess the social platforms used in teaching and learning in junior grades at Highfields
Primary School.

(ii) To analyse the effectiveness of the different social media platforms used in primary school
teaching and learning.

(iii) To categorize challenges faced by learners and teachers using social media platforms during
ICT lessons.

(iv) To identify solutions to reduce challenges faced in ICT learning using social media
platforms.

1.5 Research Questions

(i) What are the social media platforms being used in teaching ICT in junior primary schools?

(ii) How effective are these social media platforms in teaching ICT?
(iii) What are the challenges being faced by teachers and learners in using social media
platforms in ICT?
(iv)What can be done to solve the challenges being faced in using social media platforms in
teaching and learning ICT?
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1.6 Significance of the study

Use of mobile devices and social media provide opportunities for the junior learners to access
resources, materials, course contents and interacting with teachers and colleagues. The study will
help teachers and learners understand that social media is a learning tool to engage a learning
process inside and outside the class.

The study will help the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education realize that social media
platforms can be utilized in learning and teaching, and new policies can be designed to
accommodate use of these platforms in other subjects besides ICT.

It will also help parents to understand the importance of using social media platforms in learning.
Many parents associate social media with bad behaviour.

The research findings will be used as a reference paper for learning purposes and development of
new ideas on the use of social media for academic purposes.

1.7 Research assumptions

The research assumed that the use of social media platforms in teaching ICT in primary schools
has brought positive changes in the teaching and learning process. The study is also based on the
assumption that primary school learners have access to social media platforms and can
competently use them for learning, communication, and other purposes.

1.8 Delimitation of the study

The study was conducted at Chipembere Primary School, which is in the high-density area of
Highfield in High Glen district in Harare Metropolitan Province. It is a government school with a
total enrollment of 1999 learners and the responsible authority for the school is the government.
ICT teaching is done using smartphones for homework and laptops at school only accessed by
learners during ICT lessons.

Target research participants were junior classes from grades 5-7 classes and their ICT teachers.
The research tool was administered to teachers only because as implementers, their views and
experience adequately covered study objectives.

1.9 Limitations of the study

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The study used quantitative research methodology to investigate the of social media platforms in
teaching junior classes in primary school. However, by using quantitative research methodology
only, the study lacked in-depth assessment of impact of social media in increasing efficiency of
lesson delivery. Some perceptions and views of respondents could not be collected due to
limitations associated with questionnaire. Although it has limitations, the study employed
quantitative approach due to limited time to interview many participants.

1.10 Definition of key terms

Information communication technology is the infrastructure and components that enable

modern computing.

Social media are digital platforms used for sharing information (messages, images, videos, etc.)
between two or more people.

Cyberbullying is a social media security threat where someone shares private and personal
information about another person(s) with aim to denigrate them.

Predator is viewed as an internet user who attracts teenagers into physical and online sexual
acts.

Phishing is an online crime where an offender asks for their victim’s personal sensitive
information like email password, banking information, etc. for purpose of accessing money or
other.

Hacking is an act of accessing login credentials to somebody’s email or ICT machine, which
compromise the person’s online security.

1.11 Chapter summary

The chapter presented an overview to use of social media in education including justification of
the study, objectives of the study, research questions and statement of the problem. This chapter
has opened the study by providing an overview of the whole project. Chapter 2 that follows will
discuss the relevant literature that was reviewed during the study.

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1.12 Organization of the study

Chapter One covers the problem of the study. It puts the study into perspective by disvussing

the background to the study, statement of the problem, the significance, research questions,

research objectives, significance, assumptions delimitations, limitations and definition of key

terms.

Chapter two reviews literature that is related to this study. It covers the theoretical framework of

technological acceptance model (TAM) postulated by Davis (1989) that provides factors

affecting acceptance of technology by individuals.

Chapter three: discusses the research methodologies undertaken by the researcher to collect

data from the targeted respondents. The research methodologies, research design, the targeted

population, the sample and sample size, the research instruments used are presented. It also

discussed ethical considerations observed by the researcher.

Chapter Four: presents research results and discusses them in relation to literature reviewed in

Chapter 2 and research objectives.

Chapter Five is a summary of results and further, concludes the research and finally gives

recommendations based on research questions.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter reviews relevant literature on different social media platforms in relation to study
objectives. It attempts to describe the conceptual framework on the subject to enhance
comprehension of ICT and social media. It further discusses the effectiveness of using social
media in ICT teaching and learning as well as challenges associated with the use of information
technology.

2.1 Conceptual Framework

2.1.1 Social media

Social media refers to different human actions that involves interactions between people and
among groups of individuals (Deincir, 2017) transmitting messages, information, photos, videos,
games etc. This is a fast-evolving technology, which makes it difficult to assign a standard
definition. Joosten (2017) described social media as a cyber-based communication network that
connects communities together. It can be viewed as the use of internet tools (Kietzmann et al.,
2011) to disseminate, dialogue, exchange, discuss, and/or alter content.

According to Dulek and Saydan (2019) social media refers to virtual exchange and transmission
of information (personal, business, etc.,). Grosse et al (2016) concur that social media enable
distant persons and communities to share cyber information. They identify YouTube, Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn Viber, Skype and WhatsApp as dominant platforms globally.
Today millions of people across the globe are using social media ( Ortiz-Ospina, 2023) for
entertainment, work, news, communication, and many purposes. We define social media as all
internet-based platforms for sharing teaching and learning information.

2.2 Social media platforms used in ICT teaching and learning

There invention of internet brought about many social media options for use in teaching and
learning. According to Malatji, (2019) ICT platforms allow transfer of information and messages
across the globe. Common types of social media are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Viber, Skype, and WhatsApp.

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Use of social media increases digital literacy which comprises network literacy, media literacy,
computer literacy and visual literacy (Aczel, 2014). A study on use of social media by
Kufandirimbwa et al., (2013) showed that WhatsApp is the dominant social platform used in
primary education in Zimbabwe. Guy (2011) claim that WhatsApp and YouTube are the two
most used social media platforms among students.

According to Parmar and Desai (2018) the internet provides an up to-date library where learners
can access recent information on a particular subject of study. websites like GoogleBooks keep a
library collection of educational material in the form of videos, games, PowerPoint, portable
document format (PDF) and word documents (ibid). Schools and colleges use the Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn, Zoom, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, WhatsApp, Google+, Pinterest and MS
Teams for teaching and learning (Mungofa and Peter, 2015). Choice of which platform to use
depends on cost, target audience, learning setup and ICT gadgets being used.

While social media is getting popular in education, acceptance and effectiveness (Cilliers et al.,
2017) depends on culture, belief, and level of technology in a particular society and learning
system. Blattner and Lomicka (2012) found that Facebook has the largest number of users in
teaching and learning institutions. In the contrary Manca and Ranieri (2016) discovered that
teachers and learners in junior schools prefer YouTube and gaming because they share videos.
Learners can visualise and interact with peers and their instructor, making the lessons live and
instructional.

Apparently, there is consensus among researchers Facebook and YouTube dominate social
media platforms used in the field of education. The variety of learning media platforms allow
teachers to accommodate the four basic learning styles described by Walter et al., (2004);
Fleming (2022); Kolb (2015). Twitter and Facebook are commonly used when learning
institutions want to share updates (Britland, 2012) and urgent notices (Malik et al., 2019) like
changes in school calendar. Stutzman (2012) also observed that Facebook and YouTube
dominate virtual learning platforms frequently used by research, teaching and learning.

2.3 Effectiveness of social media platforms in ICT teaching and learning

Zhu (2012) asserts that social media improves academic performance, student learning and
research by increasing access to a wider information resource base. According to Dillenbourg

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and Fischer (2007) learners and institutions can establish collaborative learning syndicates that
improve learning outcomes. Channels like Facebook and YouTube are interactive and simulate a
real classroom setting, which increases grasping of learning concepts under an uninterrupted
learning setup (Janet et al ,2017). In addition, Dumpit and Fernandez (2017) argued that use of
social media in teaching and learning can advance cognitive skills.

Following the covid19 pandemic, the education sector was forced to adopt virtual learning and
teaching. In some developed nations, virtual classes have gained popularity, where learners enrol
in schools and attend online lessons in the comfort of their homes. Learning under this situation
depends on social media to communicate with teachers and collaborate with peers (Ansari and
Khan, 2020) and achieve equally competitive academic results. Ali et al (2021) contend that use
of social media has shown high academic performance owing to increased interaction,
collaboration, and inspiration, which promotes learner creativity.

The social media also benefit teachers by exposing them to a variety of educational material,
wider selection of academic ideas, recent research, which allows them to create and connect to
global professional networks (Akram and Kumar, 2017). It allows learners to link with domestic
and international academic discussion groups that enrich their education and social networks that
are useful for future business, social, and intellectual connections.

Learners can utilize online libraries virtually irrespective of location (Ezeani and Igwesi, 2012).
This breaks information barriers even for institutions found in remote locations provided they
have adequate internet connectivity. Without eLibrary and GoogleBooks, teaching and learning
is limited to a few physical hardcopy textbooks. Schools find it expensive to buy textbooks and
the cost is further increased by the need for a physical library house, maintenance of books and
security from theft. In the absence of ICT and social media, schools use a physical library,
employ a librarian and children have limited time to use the library. According to Keen (2017)
social media platforms has increased learners resource access.

2.4 Challenges faced by teachers and learners in using social media platforms

The cyberworld is becoming more complex with invention of new technology. Educators and
learners encounter many challenges when using social media platforms in teaching ICT.
Cyberbullying, deliberate discrimination (Cruz et al., 2014) misrepresentation of facts and

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misinterpretation of information are common negative effects of social media. According to
Hope (20160 learners may develop antisocial behaviour like addiction to WhatsApp or
Facebook. This reduces time spent on learning schoolwork leading to low academic
performance.

According to Lonsdale et al. (2019); Yang et al. (2019) learners who take extended periods on
the internet develop health problems. A study by Lonsdale et al. (2019) children will become
overweight, develop sleep condition, and vision disorders when they use ICT gadgets for long
periods. Namlu and Ceyhan (2002) agree that overuse of internet increases risk of vision,
musculoskeletal, headaches and sleeping problems.

Like in the physical world, social media is full of dangers; users must be aware of different forms
of cyber security problems (Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools, 2022). Lack of
knowledge results in learners and educators falling prey to internet predators, a phenomenon
called social engineering (Digital Guardian, March 2023). They take advantage of new and
unsuspecting users who are curious to navigate the social media platforms (Christie, 2020).
Common cyberattacks described by the Digital Guardina (March 2023) are phishing, pretexting,
and many other.

Phishing is where attackers access personal information about targets and pretend to represent
authentic websites. The objective is direct victims to sites that can steal login credentials or bank
card numbers for purpose of fraud.

Pretexting has similar intention with phishing, but hackers want to create a friendship with
target victim first. Attackers can imitate bank sms and send them to targets so that they respond
either by calling or follow a link that request banking details and passwords. This will allow
voluntary access to sensitive personal information that will be used defraud unsuspecting
individuals.

Cyberbullying: learners may experience bullying or harassment from their peers or people they
know. This can often happen on private chats in social media and messaging apps. Lukić (2020)
postulates that sometimes, other learners may share private information about their peer, which
can cause great distress. If this data is sexual in nature, such as intimate pictures, this might
constitute a criminal offense.

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It is difficult for educators to monitor and control use of social media by learners (Zanamwe,
2013) because there are few teachers than learners in schools. Even where schools have
mechanisms to protect learners from cyberattack, not all parents will supervise their children
when they use social media or do their schoolwork at home. While the platforms provide useful
education material, they offer many inappropriate sites (Anastasiadou and Anastasiadis, 2014)
that are dangerous to the life of a learner. Learners expose themselves to online risks when left
working on internet and other social media without supervision. Learners may develop addiction to
social media, which distracts them from learning (Harran and Olamijulo, 2014).

Not all learners and educators have good and reliable access to the internet (Harran and
Olamijulo, 2014). A lesson from Covid19 lockdown, many primary learners lost learning time
due to lack of ICT gadgets. The quality of lessons and lesson delivery options were limited
because educators had limited knowledge (inexperienced) in virtual teaching. (Harran and
Olamijulo, 2014).

2.5 Theoretical Framework

2.5.1 The Technology Acceptance Model

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) described by Davis (1989) and further reviewed by
Marangunic and Granic (2015). TAM stipulates two conditions that determine acceptance of
ICT, namely, ‘perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use’. According to Sukendro et al.
(2020) this model has been applied in many IT service sectors, which include telemedicine
services, digital technologies for teachers, phone apps, and e-learning platforms for students
(Sukendro et al., 2020). TAM was further extended to include perceived trust of a technology
(Pavlou, 2003) as a third determinate of acceptance. Schunall et al. (2015) view perceived trust
as assurance of safety and freedom from exploitation and any form of security threat.

The TAM suggests that use of technology is dependent on a person’s intention to use the
technology. The education sector had been reluctant to adopt ICT and social media in learning
and teaching. Davis (1989) defined perceived ease of use to be the degree to which an
individual believes that adopting a new technology requires little effort but achieving the
intended goal. In Zimbabwe and other third world countries, there was no need to adopt ICT in

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teaching and learning only until 2019 when physical lessons were not feasible. Virtual lessons
became useful and relevant which is why the education sector accepted ICT.

However, in my view, the second condition (perceived ease of use) was taken over by the first
(perceived usefulness) to an extent that every school adopted virtual learning regardless of
absence of knowledge and lack of ICT equipment. ICT was not easy, but educators had no option
than accept it because it was useful and beneficial. This is supported by Pavlou (2003) who
acknowledges that the factors do not always contribute equally to predicting intentions. In some
circumstance, an individual’s intentions are influenced by perceived usefulness with the other
factor contributing little or nothing to the decision. Therefore, sometimes perceived ease of use
may exert more influence than the other factors.

Application of TAM fits well in adoption of social media in ICT learning. Teachers and learners
adopted digital technologies because they perceived it useful and beneficial in lesson delivery.
Outside the cost of acquiring relevant ICT gadgets and buying internet data, social media
platforms are easy to use since learners can attend virtual lessons and study online in the comfort
of their homes.

2.5 Chapter Summary

Chapter 2 reviewed relevant literature about use of social media in teaching and learning ICT in
schools. The different social media platforms commonly used in education were further
discussed including limitations related to use of social media. The technology acceptance model
(TAM) was discussed to conceptualize drivers to adoption of ICT and social media in the
education sector. The following chapter describes research methodology used for the purpose of
this study.

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 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter discusses the research methodology used for this study. Study methodology can be
defined as the science of studying (Rajasekar, 2013) how research is done scientifically. A mixed
method research design utilising both the quantitative and qualitative research methodology was
used. It describes the study site, population and sampling procedure applied to determine number
of research participants. We further describe the structure of data collection tools used for the
purpose of this study as well as ethical considerations observed by the researcher.

3.1 Description of the study site

The study was conducted at Chipembere Government Primary School in Highfields suburb of
Harare. The school children come from a low-income high-density suburb and according to the
2022 annual school report, Chipembere Primary School has a staff complement of 68 and an
enrolment of 1,999 learners. Of these, 37% (740) are children in grades 5 to 7.

3.1.1 Chipembere Primary School location

Chipembere Primary School is a school in Zimbabwe. Chipembere Primary School is situated
nearby to Anglican Church and the community centre Zimbabwe Hall. It is found on latitude -
17.89021° or 17° 53' 25" south and longitude 30.99804° or 30° 59' 53" east.

Other economic features close to Chipembere are Mastones Bar only 360 metres northeast, Club
Joy Centre Bar, which is 670 metres southwest. The school is close to Gillyn Medical Clinic that
is 770 metres northwest, and another health centre is Highfields Polyclinic Clinic, which is
equidistant (770m) from Chipembere. To the west, there is Old Highfield Clinic just 790 metres
away. The nearest shopping centre is Machipisa where we find OK Machipisa Supermarket
about 800 metres west.

3.1.2 Other primary schools within catchment suburbs

Chipembere Primary School shares the same catchment area with Southerton primary school to
the East, Chengu Primary School to the West, to its North is Mbizi primary school while Upenyu
Hutsva is located south of the study school.

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3.2 Research philosophy

The study used the interpretivism paradigm (also known as anti-positivism) described by Gemma
(2018) which is premised on anthropology. It argues that truth and knowledge are subjective and
depend on culture and experience of research participants (Costelloe 2016). Considering the
widespread use of social media, the study combined experiences by the researcher, learners, and
ICT teachers to gain deeper understanding of social media platforms used in teaching and
learning ICT in primary schools.

3.3 Research method used

A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used for the purpose of this study.
Qualitative data was collected to enhance deeper understanding of cultural perceptions (Wisner
et al, 2004) about the internet, ICT and social media in schools and primary school learners.
Helmer (2006) asserts that qualitative research generates contextual truths of how research
participants experience a problem. The researcher observed children using different social media
platforms during ICT lessons in the computer laboratory. ICT teachers were interviewed using
open-ended structured interviews where they shared their opinions and experiences using social
media in teaching.

Quantitative paradigm provided the complementary effect of further investigate the extent to
which learners and educators use the available social media. Its advantages include the capacity
to express numerical data that is easy to analyse using computer packages (Bhandari,2020) with
little manipulation of data.

3.4 Research design

According to Kumar et al (2000), a research design can be well-defined as a blueprint used to

monitor a research study to attain the study objectives. Pride and Ferrell, (2000) also state that,
research design is a plan for gathering data required to address a research problem. The study
used a cross-sectional survey design where data collection was done at once on school children
using learner questionnaire, and teachers using structured interviews. As described by Asenahabi
(2019) cross sectional research design is descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory. It offers
subjectivity through exploration of scenarios and social construct as it affects use of social media
in primary school education.

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3.4 Target population

Babbie (2000) defines a population as a group of individuals with features that are of interest to
the research or the aggregate of all elements with similar characteristics. The research population
was 1 999 learners and 60 schoolteachers at Chipembere Primary school.

3.5 Sample size

A sample refers to the number of teachers and learners selected to represent the population in a
study (Peterson, 2006; Anderson and Maxwell, 2018). The sample was determined using the
Raosoft Sample Size Calculator (Raosoft, Inc., Seattle, 2004). It is a computer-generated
software where population size is inputted including selected margin of error, expected response
rate and confidence interval.

Out of a population of 1 999 learners, the study focused on 741 children in grades 5, 6 and 7.
Using the sample size calculator, a sample size of 148 learners were selected. The school has a
total of 5 ICT teachers and a sample size was 50% to make it representative.

3.6 Sampling procedure

According to Alvis (2016) it explains how a sample is determined. Chipembere has 6 x grade 5
classes, 4 x grades 6 and 5 x grades 7, which gives a total of 16 classes with 740 learners.
Learners were stratified into 3 grades and each grade allocated a proportionately. We used
number of a ratio formular number of learners per grade divided by total target population (740)
multiplied by sample size of 148. See table 1 below.

Table 1: Sample sizes per stratum

Stratu Total Target Total sample M F Number of

m learner population size participants
Grade 5 278 741 148 2 29 55
6
Grade 6 224 741 148 2 20 45
5
Grade 7 239 741 148 2 26 48
2
Totals 741 741 148 7 75 148

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 3

Selection of learners was done using systematic random sampling where all learners in each class
grade were listed alphabetically using surnames. For each class, 1 in every 6 learners was
randomly selected with each participant given equal chance to be included regardless of sex,
disability or age. Out of 5 teachers teaching ICT in grades 5-7 classes, 3 teachers were selected
using simple random selection.

3.7 Data sources

The study used primary data sources only. Primary data was collected quantitatively using
individual learner questionnaires and structured open-ended interview guides for ICT teachers.
Stoner (2000) describes primary sources as direct information collected during the research
process while secondary data is reference material already generated by target institution.

3.8 Data collection techniques

Research data was collected using individual learners’ questionnaire and structured interviews
for ICT teachers.

3.8.1 Structured interviews for teachers

Interviews are conducted between two or more people with the researcher collecting in-depth
data from target respondents (Bogdan and Biklen, 2000). Three ICT teachers for grades 5-7 were
issued guided interview questions with fill-in options. The interview guide was divided into four
themes in relation to the four objectives of the study. The first theme focussed on number and
types of social media platforms used at Chipembere for ICT learning and teaching. Second
section covered teacher’s assessment and opinion on effectiveness of the social media platforms
used. Part 3 of the interview guide required teachers to share challenges related to using social
media in ICT learning at the school and from home. The last them aimed to solicit teachers’
suggestions on how challenges related to use of social media can be reduced in schools.

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3.8.2 Individual learner’s questionnaire
A total of 148 learners were issued with individual questionnaires to fill-in questions by circling
and/or ticking appropriate response options.

Structure of the individual questionnaire

The questionnaire was divided into 5 sections (see Appendix 2). Section one was questionnaire
identification and child/family demographics. It covered name of child, date of the interview,
venue, gender, and disability. The second part covered access to ICT gadgets, internet, and social
media platforms both at home and in school. Common social media platforms used by learners,
challenges faced and how learners wish ICT lessons can be improved were covered in the third,
fourth and fifth sections of the questionnaire.

The questions were structured in a Likert Rating Scale (SurveyMonkey, 2023) and the researcher
avoided the binary (yes or no) response options. Except for the questionnaire identification
questions, section 2 will use questions that have a 3 to 7-point scale sometimes referred to as a
satisfaction scale (Page, 2023) that ranges from one extreme attitude to another.

3.9 Validity and reliability

Walliman (2005) suggests that researchers must ensure data sources are reliable, valid and of
good quality. To achieve this requirement, data collection tools were tested (pilot study) using 1
teacher and 4 learners randomly picked prior to deployment. The researcher was able to take note
of errors and inconsistencies and revised the data collection tools accordingly. Reliability and
validity were enhanced by use of a large sample size and 2 data collection tools complementing
each other.

3.9 Ethical considerations

The research adheres to the ethical considerations in conducting good practices in research work.
The study observed informed consent, voluntary participation, sharing of research results,
anonymity, and confidentiality.

3.9.1 Informed consent

According to Altman (2005) informed consent offers target respondents with an option to accept
or reject participation. Teachers were asked to choose if they were willing to answer guided

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interviews or not. They were provided a box to tick or untick at the top section (introduction) of
the interview guide. Learners were issued with consent forms for their guardians/parents to sign
accepting to participate in the study. for this study, all 3 teachers consented and 10% of learners
chose not to participate for their parents’ personal reasons.

Prior to the study, the researcher sought for permission to carry out the research from Ministry of
Primary and Secondary Education head office, Harare provincial office and High Glen district
education office and school head for Chipembere Primary (see annexe 3, 4. 5 and 6).

3.9.2 Confidentiality and anonymity

According to Hickey (2018), anonymity means warranting that the research participants cannot
be recognized. The interviewer assured participants that the questionnaires remained anonymous,
and any names allocated to them would be a pseudo name as described by Bell (2009). For
confidentiality, each questionnaire was allocated systematic numbers to identify them rather than
asking respondents to write their names.

3.9.3 Use of data

Participants were assured that data collected during the study will only be used for the purpose of
this research and not for any other use. The introduction section of the interview guide and
learner’s questionnaire clearly outlined the objective of the study and purpose of data collection
was for student research dissertation.

3.11 Data analysis and presentation

According to Kothari (1990) the procedure for analysing data comprises a few closely related
processes such as data entry, cleaning, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences.
Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyse quantitative data. Tables, pie charts, graphs
were plotted to present quantitative data.

3.12 Chapter summary

Chapter 3 discussed research methodology used for the purpose of this study. We described the
study site, population, sampling procedure and sample size determination process. detailed on
the methodology used in carrying out this study by the researcher. There is a section that
described data collection tools according to structure and brief content. The last part of the

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chapter highlights ethical considerations observed by the researcher. Chapter 4 that follows will
present research results, analysis, and discussion of the findings.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

4.0 Introduction
This study was conducted on 148 learners and 3 ICT teachers randomly selected from grades 5 to
7. This chapter presents results from individual learner questionnaires and key informant
interview guides. Questionnaire data was entered into an excel sheet and further transposed onto
SPSS for statistical analysis. Results are presented, analysed and discussed one after the other,
and the chapter concludes by a summary.
4.1 Demographics
4.1.1 Age, sex, and class grade of respondents
About 49.32% of the total 148 learners participating in the study were males while females
constituted 50.68%. Of the 3 ICT teachers who responded to key informant interviews, 66%
were females and 33% males. Figure 1 below shows proportion of research participants by
gender.

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
Male Female

Learners ICT teachers Totals

Figure 1: Proportion of research participants by sex

There is a relatively balanced gender involvement in the study. This allows unbiased reflection
of how social media impacts on ICT learning on female and male learners. The biological
difference and gender roles at school and in the home. This was confirmed by Quasar et al.,
(2021) who reported that adolescent boys spend more time on socializing while girls use social

20
media platforms for education purposes. In the contrary, Idemudia et al., (2017) found that
female adult university students find social media platforms easier and safe to use than their male
counterparts. Like in the former study, males were satisfied with quality of social media
information than females.
4.1.2 Access to ICT gadgets
Learners at Chipembere are allowed to bring their ICT gadgets to school to complement the
small number of computers at the school. Use of social media is monitored by ICT teachers and
controlled through blocking of offensive sites. At home 63% of learners own and/or have access
to smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers. Teachers (100%) own smart phones and use
school data every time they come to work and 15% struggle to buy data for other social media
platforms when home. Table 1 below shows proportion of participants with access to different
ICT gadgets.
Table 2: Access to ICT gadgets by learners and teachers

ICT gadget Tr Male Tr Female Learner Male Learner Female

Laptop 50 50 16 21
Desktop 0 0 65 67
Smart phone 50 50 63 89

Results show an equal ownership and use of ICT between male and female teachers while access
to ICT equipment is higher in female learners (89%) than males (63%). The study results
contradict findings from Ghaviferk et al., (2020) which showed that male teachers had a higher access
to and use of ICT equipment in the classroom. However, the study did not look at ownership and use of
ICT gadgets by learners. On average, the access to computers is above 70% for both teachers and
learners. Results from a study on council schools in Nigeria shows a low access and use of ICT lessons
(Oguoma et al., 2019). This could be attributed to differences countries (Nigeria versus Zimbabwe) and
whether ICT learning is developed in Nigeria.

4.2 Common social media platforms

Three social media platforms are common in use for teaching and learning namely WhatsApp
(48%), Zoom (36%), and Google class (16%). Teachers (100%) prefer Facebook for posting
school updates like school calendar, public reminders for parents and other important events.
However, 93% of learners are not allowed to access Facebook by parents fearing cyberthreats.

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Table 3: Social media platforms used

Social media % Learners % Teachers

platform
M F M F
WhatsApp 26 22 50 100
Zoom 20 16 50 50
Google class 7 9 50 100
Facebook 0 0 100 100

Results on learners’ preference for social media platforms do not concur with Ling Yeo (2015)
who found out that YouTube videos and Facebook are commonly used in teaching and learning
in tertiary institutions in Singapore. This suggests existence of differences in use of social media
between primary school children and college adults. Generally, learning institutions in
Zimbabwe (3) and Singapore (2) have limited social media options to use. University students in
America have a wider selection of social media platforms for learning and networking (Experian
(2012) in Delello et al., 2015) who identified six social network sites frequently visited by
learners.

4.3 Effectiveness of different platforms

Zoom platform ranked highest (32%) on effectiveness followed by Whatsapp (28%), Google
class and Facebook (see figure 2 below). Teachers prefer Google class although learners found it
expensive because they felt it consumes more data than other learning platforms used. Facebook
was least preferred because learners are restricted to use it by parents when home for cybersafety
reasons.

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 15%
28%

Whatsapp
Zoom
Google class
25% Facebook

32%

Figure 2: Effectiveness of learning social media

Study results do not match Prasetyaningtyas et al. (2023) who found that YouTube was the most
popular (37.94%) citing highest number of followers as reason for preference. Learners under
this study are young and 89% do not have personal Facebook accounts, which is why they do not
prefer it. However, 100% of teachers are more comfortable using Facebook than any other social
media application.

4.4 Challenges faced by learners and teachers using social media.

Learners (87%) cited limited time for using social media because use of cell phones and school
computers is restricted to ICT lessons time only. When home, parents take their phones and 89%
of learners do not have personal accounts for Facebook and other applications. Teachers (75%)
found power cuts most challenging; there is no electricity supply during the day. Without power
backup, it is not possible to use the computer laboratory without power supply backup.

Table 4: Challenges in using social media for learning & teaching

Challenge Teachers % Learners % Total

No social media 0 89 89
accounts
Power cuts 45 6 81
Data expensive 30 0 30

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 Computer viruses 12 0 12
Cyber attacks 13 5 18

In a related study on challenges faced by learning institutions, Ghaviferk et al. (2020) found
network connectivity, lack of training and limited time limiting use of social media. Oguoma et
al. (2019) observed that power sully, lack of technical knowledge, expensive ICT gadgets and
lack of access to internet as major challenges. According to Ling Yeo (2014) social media cased
distraction to learners when they concentrate on non-education material. Why learners in this
study did not mention distraction and high cost of data could be because primary school children
do not own personal gadgets, are not aware of costs of data and equipment.

4.5 Solutions to reduce challenges.

Participants prefer power backup (73%) at the school and felt its better for parents to block
offensive sites (34%) than stop them using social media at home. Teachers recommended
installation of solar power as backup to ensure ICT lessons are conducted during the day. Since
cyberthreats appeared less important, 39% of respondents recommended use of strong passwords
as solution to protect learners and ICT gadgets.

80
70
60
50
40
30
% responses

20
10
0
up g s s
k in ite o rd
ac in es sw
r b tra siv as
we a ff n p
St fe g
Po of ro
n
g St
k in
oc
Bl
Recommended solution

Totals

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Suggested solutions to social media challenges tally with Oguoma et al. (2019) who offered
alternative source of power on ICT laboratory and teacher training on use of different ICT
applications.

4.6 Chapter summary

Chapter 4 presented findings from 148 individual learner questionnaires and 3 interviews with
ICT teachers at Chipembere Primary School. Common social media platforms used in teaching
and learning are WhatsApp, Zoom and Google class. The summary, conclusions and
recommendations of the study will be presented in chapter five that follows.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.0 Summary

This study assessed social media platforms used in ICT teaching and learning at a primary school
in Highfields high density suburb of Harare Zimbabwe. ICT compliments face to face lessons in
school in line with national ICT policy in Zimbabwe. Online learning became the only
alternative teaching approach during the covid19 period (2020 – 2021) when the whole world
suspended classroom lessons. The objective was to identify the social media platforms used in
primary school learning, challenges faced and suggested solutions to ICT challenges currently
faced.

A mixed method survey was conducted using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data
collection was used. An individual questionnaire was administered to 148 learners and 3 ICT
teachers responded to structured key informant interviews. Results show that WhatsApp, zoom
and google class are the common platforms used for teaching and learning. Zoom was identified
as the most platform for teaching and learning because it allows interaction of learners and their
instructors. Challenges include power cuts, expensive ICT gadgets and internet data services.
Suggested solutions are installation of solar systems as power supply backup, staff training, use
of strong passwords and blocking of offensive social media sites.

4.1 Conclusions

(i) Parents are uncomfortable with primary school learners opening own social media accounts
due to fear of associated cyberthreats.

(ii) Power cuts are common during the day, making learners missing ICT lessons very often.

(iii) Common social media platforms used at Chipembere Primary School are WhatsApp, zoom
and google class, with zoom being most preferred.

(iv) Costs of buying ICT gadgets and internet data reduces usage of social media in ICT teaching
and learning in schools.

4.2 Recommendations

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(i) Schools and parents should protect learners from cyberthreats if social media remains the
preferred teaching and learning platform.

(ii) Internet service providers must provide subsidised data packages for schools and learning
institutions to promote ICT usage in education.

(iii) Education sector to explore other social media platforms to increase selection options, which
offers opportunity to choose cheaper and safer platforms.

(v) Schools must invest in renewable power sources like solar to backup electricity supply so
that ICT lessons run uninterrupted.

4.3 Areas for further studies

(i) Effects of gender on use of social media by adolescent children in primary and secondary
schools.

(ii) Number of data service providers with internet packages tailormade for education institutions
to promote ICT in schools.

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