Impact of Digital Education on The Academic Performance of Students: A Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Idemili North L.G.A, Anambra State

Abstract: The study investigated the impact of digital education on the academic performance of secondary students in Idemili North L.G.A, Anambra State. It aimed to discover the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of digital education in schools. The researcher employed a qualitative research approach to evaluate if there was a relationship between digital education and the academic performance of students. The study employed a case study design, and data collection was done through the completion of written interviewsby filling in the open-ended questions, while face-to-face oral interviewsto further receive viable information on the subject under investigationThe sampling approach used in this study is stratified sampling. Purposefully, 30 respondents were sampled and categorized into 15 separately for the two schools under study. The principal, teachers, and students made up this number on the ratio of 1:4:10, respectively, for each school. The three strata that were sampled were the students, principals, and teachers of the selected schools who comprehend the impact of digital education on students’ performance. Those schools were chosen firstly because of their proximity and accessibility to the researcher. In addition, literatures were reviewed. The study revealed that digital education has benefits for students; these include easy access to information, accessibility of online resources, collaboration enhancement, and creation of personalized learning. The major negative effect of digital education is distraction; it causes students to engage in cyber fraud, immodest lifestyle, and watch pornography. Also, it was found that lack of digital gadgets for effective learning, unavailability of the internet and lack of basic knowledge on digital education, lack of good supervision, and lack of digital facilities are other factors that affect digital education in schools. Therefore, it was recommended that parents, teachers, government, and secondary school stakeholders join in a collaborative effort to make sure digital education is accessible to students in secondary schools. Also, parents should start teaching their children moral discipline right from home; another commendation was that teachers should be held responsible for guiding the students on digital education in secondary school; therefore, they should upgrade themselves to modern-day teachers. Thus, concerning this issue of the negative impact of digital education that is ravaging lives because people cannot defend themselves online, it was recommended that all hands should be on deck to avoid the wrong use of the internet that affects people negatively in colleges and societies.