Social media, student engagement and academic performance

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between Social Media, Student Engagement and Academic Performance among Makerere University Students. A quantitative approach was adopted in which questionnaires were used to collect data. Data was collected from a sample of 70 students both male and female adolescents. The data was analyzed using statistical package for social scientists. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between social media use and student engagement, (r=.353**, p<0.01). The results imply that as social media use levels increase among students, their engagement also increase. The results further showed that there was a significant relationship between student engagement and academic performance, (r=-.276**, p<0.05) this implies that engaged students are likely to have high levels of academic performance. Lastly the results showed that there is a significant relationship between social media use and academic performance, (r=..227**, p<0.01). This implies that students’ academic performance increase with the increase in social media use. Basing on the study findings, it is recommended that educators who want to use social media in their academic courses to promote student learning should support students to be active participants in collaborative learning.