Teachers’ Perceived Usefulness of Social Media in Mathematics Instruction: A Pragmatic Approach to Combating Socio-Economic Challenges

Abstract

The researchers investigated perceived usefulness of social media in mathematics teaching and learning in colleges of education in Enugu State with a view to determining how families can leverage social media to address socio-economic challenges. The design of the study was descriptive survey research design which sought the opinions of teachers and students on the same subject matter. The population of the study was all the teachers and students in the Department of Mathematics in the public colleges of education in Enugu state. The sample of the study was 128 respondents, comprising 31 teachers and 97 students gotten through accidental sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was Perceived Usefulness of Social Media in Mathematics Instruction in Colleges of Education Questionnaire (PUSMMICEQ) developed by the researchers. PUSMMICEQ was properly validated by experts. The reliability index of the instrument was 0.82 using Cronbach Alpha. The findings of the study show that both teachers and students who are also part of the families have high perception on the usefulness of social media in mathematics education, raising hope of improving productivity in mathematics education based on shared ideas, knowledge and skills through social media. Nonetheless, male teachers exhibited higher levels of social media use and perceived usefulness. Based on this pragmatic approach, it was found that social media has the potential to bridge gaps in mathematics education but to maximize its impact on improving family wellbeing, gender sensitive strategies need to be employed.