Civic education and enriching learning using collaborized platforms among Uganda secondary school students

Social media sites are becoming necessary tools for interaction among students due to their functionality. Students can share, exchange, comment, discuss and create information thereby building knowledge in a collaborative way. However, civic education is not limited to participation in politics and society, it also encompasses participation in classrooms, neighborhoods, groups and organizations. In civics, students learn to contribute to public processes and discussions of real issues. Students can also learn civic practices such as voting, volunteering, jury service, and joining with others to improve society. In this study, collaborized platform was used to enrich senior secondary school students learning in Civic Education. Also, students’ attitude toward using the platform for enriching civic education was assessed. Student’s preference for a collaborized platform was assessed using focus group discussion (FGD) and data was collected using a questionnaire. The findings show that students appreciate the potentials of the platform in enriching civic education instruction. It was revealed that students have a positive attitude towards the use of social media and also have a preference for civic education. Based on these, it is recommended that, if social media sites are effectively used, it will develop students’ attitudes towards learning, enrich teaching and learning of civic education, as well as enhance academic achievement among senior secondary school learners.