Assessing the Perception and Challenges of Online Learning by Students in some Selected Tertiary Institutions in Ghana

TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT............................................................................................................................ PAGE

DECLARATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.. i

DEDICATION.. ii

TABLE OF CONTENT.. iv

LIST OF TABLES. vii

LIST OF FIGURES. vii

ABSTRACT.. viii

 

CHAPTER ONE.. 1

1.0      INTRODUCTION.. 1

1.1      Background of the Study. 1

1.2      Problem Statement2

1.3      Objective of the study. 4

1.3.1       Main objective. 4

1.3.2       Specific objectives. 4

1.4      Research questions. 5

1.5      Significance of the Study. 5

1.6      Organization of the Study. 6

1.7      Limitation of the Study. 6

1.8      Delimitation of the Study. 6

 

CHAPTER TWO.. 8

2.0      LITERATURE REVIEW... 8

2.1      Overview of Online Learning. 8

2.2      Learning. 9

2.3      Online Learning and its Growing Importance. 10

2.4      The Use of Technology in Education. 11

2.5      COVID-19 Pandemic and Higher Education. 12

2.6      Higher Education Institutions in Ghana and Online Learning. 14

2.6.1       University of Education, Winneba. 14

2.6.2       Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. 15

2.7      Higher Education Transition to Online Learning. 16

2.8      Learning Management System.. 18

2.9      Challenges of Online Learning. 19

2.10    Students’ Attitude towards Online Learning. 20

2.11    Students’ Perceptions toward Online Learning. 21

 

CHAPTER THREE.. 22

3.0      METHODOLOGY.. 22

3.1      Study Area. 22

3.2      Method. 25

3.2.1       Research Design. 25

3.2.2       Instrument for Data Collection. 26

3.3      Target Population. 26

3.3.1       Sampling Technique. 27

3.3.2       Sample size. 27

3.4      Data Analysis. 28

 

CHAPTER FOUR.. 29

4.0      RESULT.. 29

4.1      Socio Demographic Characteristics of Respondents. 29

4.2      Student’s Perception about Online Learning. 30

4.3      The Online Teaching and Online Materials Platform Used. 32

4.4      Students’ Perception about Online Learning. 32

4.5      Challenges Students Faced in Adopting the Online Teaching and Learning. 35

4.6      Challenges students faced during the online teaching and learning. 35

4.7      Discussions from the Three Universities. 39

 

CHAPTER FIVE.. 41

5.0      CONCLUSIONS. 41

5.1      Introductions. 41

5.2      Summary of Research Findings. 41

5.3      Conclusions. 41

5.4      Recommendation. 42

REFERENCES. 43

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary of demographic characteristics of respondents. 29

Table 2: Perception of Students towards online learning. 31

Table 3: Students’ Perception about Online Learning. 34

Table 4: Challenges students faced during online teaching and learning. 38

 

 

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 : map of the study area. 23

Figure 2 : map of the study area. 25

Figure 3: Response on the form of online teaching and materials platform used. 32

Figure 4: Challenges in adopting the online teaching and learning. 35

 

ABSTRACT

The study sought to assess the perception and challenges of online learning by students in some selected tertiary institutions in Ghana. Quantitative research design was adopted for the study. Using probability sampling techniques specifically stratified sampling, simple random sampling technique and the questionnaires were administered to 150 students which formed the sample size for the study. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 20. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize response from respondents of the different universities. Data collected was analyzed using cross tabulation. Statistical differences were compared using chi-square and a P-value of < 0.05 was considered as significant. The study concludes that, most of the students in Ghanaian tertiary institutions were young adults and the usage of online learning was embraced by the tertiary students as they saw it to be more effective. The electronic device used by most students for assessing online teaching and learning was mobile phones with high cost of purchasing data bundles as one of the major challenges students faced in the three universities for assessing the online learning platforms. The study therefore recommends that the tertiary institutions should provide free internet access to the students to assist them in their online teaching and learning. Also, it is recommended that the government and other NGOs should provide free android phone to student to assist them in their online learning and finally, appropriate training should be given to the students on how to use the online learning platform.