ANALYSIS OF STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEIVED CONSEQUENCES OF LOCKDOWN ON SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA
Author: Ayandele, Julius Kehinde & Olaoye, Damilola Daniel
Abstract:
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has largely affected the education system globally, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. This study, therefore, analyzed the perceived consequences of lockdown on secondary school activities among stakeholders in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey research design and a total of 600 respondents out of 14,540 students in Kwara State were sampled for the study using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The researcher developed the instrument “Stakeholders’
Perceived Consequences of Lockdown on Secondary School Activities Questionnaire (SPCLSSAQ)” with a reliability co-efficient of 0.82 Cronbach Alpha was employed for the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a t-test at a 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that lockdown of schools was perceived to have negative consequences on educational activities such as disruption of the academic calendar,
learning gap and digital divide, loss of students’ interest in educational activities, loss of committed teachers, high rate of school dropouts, rise in a number of half-baked graduates, etc. Also, the findings showed that the positive impacts of lockdown on school activities include increased collaboration and synergy among educational stakeholders, increased digital literacy among teachers and students, improvement in infrastructural facilities in
schools, integration of technology into teaching and learning, and the use of learning management system in secondary schools. There was a significant difference in the stakeholders’ perceived consequences of lockdown on secondary school activities based on school type and location. However, there was no significant difference in the stakeholders’ perceived consequences of lockdown on secondary school activities based on gender. It was
therefore recommended that there should be more cooperation and collaboration among the various stakeholders in education in order to guarantee inclusive education irrespective of student’s location or school type. Also, better funding should be provided in secondary school education to improve the facilities in schools such as computers, internet facilities, stable electricity, etc. This will ensure less disruption of school activities and academic
calendar as well as pedagogical continuity during a lockdown of this nature. Similarly, there should be constant training of teachers and students as well as better quality assurance in digital education at the secondary school level to bridge the digital divide especially in rural areas and public schools.