Personal Variables and Students' Academic Performance of Virtual Classroom Learners of Social Studies in Secondary Schools in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The study examines the factors of age, gender and location of social studies students and their performance on a virtual classroom platform. The study adopted the quasi-experimental design. A specific class arm of 50 Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 students that were treated to a social studies lesson on family. The researcher developed a Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT) with a reliability coefficient of .861; Cronbach Coefficient Alpha Statistics was administered to elicit student performance. The data collected were grouped based on age, gender and location. Mean (X ) score analysis indicated variance in performance based on personal factors, but, there was no significant correlation with academic performance of social studies students when taught using a virtual classroom platform, It was concluded that age and gender significantly influence students' academic performance in social studies using virtual classroom platform. The state government and education stakeholders adopted a virtual classroom strategy and teachers should be trained to use virtual classroom platforms for instruction for optimum educational effect in the study area.