Integrating Educational Videos into Higher Education: A Survey of Students' Perspectives in Ghana

In this study, we conducted a survey of students from a public University in Ghana to determine their perspectives in terms of their varying usage skills, preference dynamics and their nuanced perceptions regarding the use of educational videos. The survey research method was adopted to address the overriding aim of the study. A sample of 301 respondents was recruited out of a target population of 2,281 students from the Faculty of Art, KNUST-Kumasi, using the stratified sampling strategy. Data collection was done via a researcher-designed web-based electronic questionnaire (eQuestionnaire). Findings from the study revealed a range of perspectives. Notably, on gender lines, the male students more frequently used educational videos to support learning than their female counterparts. Similarly, although the majority (89.7%) of the students are generally skilled in using digital devices to access videos, the male students are comparatively more skilled than the females. Regarding their preferences for video-types, tutorials was the most preferred (76.1%) by males, whereas 71% of the female students preferred comedy. Overall, the majority (93.7%) of students held a positive perception where they support the view that educational videos are important and should be included in the teaching and learning process. Amongst the recommendations offered is that, lecturers should be charged with implementing instructional strategies that are more engaging through the use of educational videos to augment the traditional ways of teaching.