Effect of Virtual Learning Technology on Economics Students’ Learning Interest and Academic Achievement in Public Senior Secondary School Students of FCT, Abuja

Abstract

The study examined the effect of virtual learning technology on economics students’ learning interest and academic achievement   of public senior secondary school students of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design. The population of the study comprised of 24,771 SS2 students from all public senior secondary schools in six Area Councils of FCT Abuja. 102   students were selected using purposive sampling in which students from intact classes from two different schools were used. The instruments used for data collection was a structured questionnaire named Economics Interest Scale, (EIS) as well as Economics Achievement Test (EAT). The instruments were scrutinized by experts in Economics and Evaluation for the purpose of ascertaining their appropriateness (face validity) and comprehensiveness (content validity. scores emanating from the exercise were used to obtain validity indices of 0.78 and 0.81. The instruments were further subjected to pilot study and obtain reliability indices of 0.75 and 0.77 for the questionnaire and achievement tests respectively. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were   tested using t-test. The findings from the study showed that there is a significant effect of virtual learning technology on economics students’ learning interest in public senior secondary schools of FCT, Abuja, and there is a significant effect of virtual learning technology on the economics students’ academic achievement of public senior secondary schools in FCT, Abuja. The study recommended that economics teachers should be trained on the use of virtual learning environment technology for the   purpose enhancing students’ academic achievement. The study concluded that virtual learning   technology enhances students’  learning interest and academic achievement of FCT, Abuja.