A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INSTRUCTION AMONG PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN NIGERIA AND RWANDA

Abstract

This study investigated student’s use of different social media tools, their perceptions and attitudes towards these tools, their preference of social media for instructional purpose, and acceptance of social media among, pre-service teachers in Nigeria and Rwanda. This study adopted a comparative survey design, and Nigeria and Rwanda were chosen as sample region through purposive sampling. The population of the study included 487 higher education students of the faculty of education; 246 of them were Nigerians and 241 were Rwandese. They comprised of 212 male and 267 females. The findings of the study revealed that pre-service teachers in both countries have adequate knowledge of different type of social media sites. The findings show that the level of preference of social media site is very high in both countries among the pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers in both countries are willing to use social media technology to support learning. Pre-service teachers in both countries have a positive attitude towards the use of social media for instruction purposes p<0.05). Also, Facebook was discovered to be the most popular social networking site among them followed by Twitter and Google+. Rwandese pre-service teachers used Skype more than their counterparts in Nigeria. Based on these findings recommendations were made that establishment of educational technology units in the faculties of education in Rwanda, also curricular underlying teacher educational programs should ensure that these knowledge and beliefs are emphasized when designing educational technology courses as well as modifying the content the courses so that student teachers have greater engagement in technology. Nigeria still has a lot to explore in the use of social media for instruction purpose therefore further in-depth studies should be carried out. 

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