Prevalence of Social Media Usage among Teachers in Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of social media usage with emphasis on whatsApp uses among Senior High School (SHS) Teachers in the Kumasi metropolis. The population of this study comprised of Teachers from Public SHS in the Kumasi Metropolis. The specific objectives included frequency of use, purpose of use and the challenges. Structured questionnaire was employed in this study. Respondents were duly informed about the objective of the study. Participatory was purely voluntary. Primary data were analyzed with the aid of Predictive Analytic Software (PASW) for window. The study revealed that the frequency of social media use among teachers was high, 46.7% of teachers use whatsApp more than ten times every day, 26.7% use whatsApp seven times daily whilst 14% others use whatsApp maximum of three times daily. Technical reasons for WhatsApp uses were; Simplicity 45.3%, free charge 60.7%, Availability and immediacy 60.7%, Privacy and minimal exposure 20%, Teachers already use it 46.7%.Professional reasons include: Deeper acquaintance with students 60.7%, Pleasant atmosphere 52.7%,  Sense of belonging to the group 38.7%, Quality of expression among student 46.7%, Students help one another and share materials 72.7% Accessibility to learning materials 53.3%, Teacher availability, 50.2% Learning any time anywhere 64.0%challenges of WhatsApp use: Students with no smartphones 53.3% Message flooding, time consuming 60.5%, Group maintenance 56.7%, Expectation for high availability of teachers 50.0%, Students' usage of inappropriate language 60.7%, Overexposure to students' personal life 52.7%, it is concluded that WhatsApp can be employed as learning platform if judiciously use or regulated. Some schools do not permit the use of mobile phones among students in schools. Meanwhile, our covert observation during the preliminary stages revealed that most sophisticated smartphones were used by students.