AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON ADOLESCENT EDUCATION

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON ADOLESCENT EDUCATION

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BACKGROUND OF STUDY

This research focuses on the detrimental consequences of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Traditionally, the majority of ICT writing has been focused on the obligatory sector, with any reference to early childhood education reflecting on disputes over the merits and cons of young children's computer use (Akinbote, Oduolowu, and Lawal, 2001).

The goal of this study is to examine the influence of computer technology on children and to provide solutions to the problem. This is a systematic research to uncover how computer usage impacts children's development and to assist parents, teachers, and legislators in refining and adopting rules that maximize the good benefits and limit the negative consequences of computers in children's life. The implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools has undoubtedly been recognized as a significant step that will contribute to knowledge creation, communication, and information exchange among students and instructors in the school system. When used correctly, the integration of ICT into the educational system achieves the following goals:

To ensure that all students at all levels of the educational system are computer literate, To sustain a dynamic ICT world, a crucial manpower pool of highly trained ICT professionals, engineers, scientists, technicians, and software developers must be created. To improve the administration and management of academic institutions through the effective use of ICT tools in their day-to-day activities, to provide career opportunities for the most talented children and others to participate in the ICT knowledge era, and to provide career opportunities for the most talented children and others to participate in the ICT knowledge era (Fafunwa, 1991).

As the children's interest in computers grows, we must examine the influence, both good and bad, on their development at a given moment in time. Over the years, a growing number of houses have added electronic games, home computers, and the internet to existing technologies such as television and audio systems that occupy the majority of children's time (Taiwo, 1982).

For many years, ICT has been criticized for having a possible detrimental impact on children. Concerns concerning the use of ICT are frequently focused with the subject of 'how early exposure of the kid to the ICT effects its general development.' According to experts such as Kirkorian, Wartella, and Anderson (2009), children learn more from real-life experiences than from those provided by ICT, especially if the content is inappropriate for the youngsters. The argument over technology's impact on child development has long since moved beyond the confines of academia and into the general eye. According to Plowman, McPake, and Stephen (2008), even the general public believes that the use of ICT is harmful to children and that its creative potential is increasingly being disregarded. But where are the causes for such thinking to be found? The main point of all research that emphasize the negative aspects of ICT is that children in their early phases of development are the most susceptible and, as a result, the most vulnerable. Plowman, McPake, and Stephen (2010) classified the hazards and downsides of ICT use into three broad categories in one of their research. The first category encompasses the risks and disadvantages of ICT use on a child's sociocultural development. The authors discovered that ICT allegedly endangers the child's social development because children spend less time playing with their peers and are mostly isolated; ICT is allegedly to offer virtual experiences from "the second hand" rather than realistic experiences from "the first hand"; and, finally, ICT marketing is very intense in our society and prays on vulnerable children, who make up the majority of its target group. The second category addresses the risks and benefits of ICT use for children's cognitive development. ICT is said to jeopardize a child's intellectual growth, imaginative development (it encourages inactivity rather than activity), and language development (lack of communication with peers) (Vasta, Haith, and Miller, 1995). The last category encompasses the risks and benefits of ICT use for children's well-being. 

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Children are allegedly to spend more time indoors and less time outdoors, the child's health is jeopardized (sitting usage, which increases the risk of obesity), the use of ICT allegedly leads to technology addiction and exposure to inappropriate content, and the chances of the child interacting with family members are also reduced, which is allegedly to lead to a decrease in the child's emotional development (Akinpelu, 1981). All of these risks and drawbacks of ICT use are primarily related to the amount of ICT used, its content, and the degree of parental supervision. Children may now access a wider range of content than ever before because to advances in information and communication technology. Adults have no control over this access since the media environment has altered so significantly that comprehensive control over a child's ICT usage is now practically unattainable (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout, and Brodie, 1999). The study determined the number of sedentary hours children spend on computer-related activities. According to some study, potential health risks include back strains, neck strains, and eye strains. One of the disadvantages of computer use is that even youngsters who cannot read or write are already accustomed to it. They develop the habit of playing computer games for hours on end at a very young age. Only 8% spend more than six hours each week conversing online or reading about current events. Over 60% of youngsters spend one to three hours per week on the computer, either playing computer games, doing schoolwork, conversing online, sending e-mails, or researching current events. The majority of the lads spend their time playing computer games, while the majority of the girls spend their time conversing or doing their homework. In comparison to the girls, boys spend more time on the computer (Taiwo, 1982).

The impact of information technology on a child's educational achievement varies depending on the context. The detrimental impact on one youngster may be beneficial to the growth of another.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this study is to examine the negative effects of information technology on child-education. It was undertaken due to the increased expectation of ICT in the early childhood context and to explore how a corrective measure can be strategized for a higher percentage of positive impact on the contrary. Specific objectives of the study are:

1. To identify the type (s) of information technology devices and gadgets children are easily addicted to.
2. To identify information technology devices and gadgets that can negatively influence a child at his or her early stages of education.
3. To proffer various strategies and methods parents can use in eliminating the negative influence of information technology on child education.

 

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In-order to achieve the above stated research objectives, the researcher formulated the following research questions:

1. What information and technology gadgets are your children easily addicted to?
2. What negative effects have these gadgets had on the academic achievement of your child/Children?
3. What strategies can be adopted to help minimize the negative effects of information technology on children education?

 

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The following research hypotheses were formulated to help validate findings in line

Ho: There is no significant relationship between information technology usage and academic performance of children.

Hi: There is a significant relationship between information technology usage and academic performance of children.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be highly useful after its completion for parents, teachers and the growing children. The research studies on child education and the negative influence of information technology and will be of great help in that it would;

• Help parents become sensitive to the inevitable influence on their growing children and how they can effectively manage the menace from crumbling their efforts to giving the child good grooming.
•  To the teacher: The knowledge obtained from this study will enable them to understand how computer use affects children’s development, and seek to help them refine and adopt guidelines that maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of computers in children’s lives.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers the child education and the negative impact of information and communication technology on the child’s education. The study basically focused on the comparism between the positive and negative influence on male and female children in this era towards achieving the targeted future.

 

1.8 PRESENTATION OF THE THESIS

This thesis is presented in six chapters. Chapter one presents an overview and rationale for the study with the research questions forming the framework. This study was undertaken due to the increased negative influence of ICT in the early childhood context and to explore how a small group of early childhood teachers responded to this argument.

The second chapter outlines research and literature that exists in relation to ICT both within the compulsory and early childhood sectors. The bulk of literature pertaining to ICT in ECE previously focused on the presence of computers, which potentially reflected a negative view and interpretation of ICT effects. More recently, this has shifted to show how the potential of ICT can be enhanced when integrated within the holistic way of child grooming and teaching, reflected within the early childhood environment.

Chapter three outlines the research design. The theoretical framework, alongside the methods employed to gather and analyse the data, are also described. This study took a qualitative approach to the research, with the principles of the early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996) embedded within the research design. Collecting the data involved two methods, questionnaires and focus groups.

Within chapter four the findings of the research are presented and disseminated in relation to the key themes which emerged from the data. These themes show that the teachers in this study mainly incorporated ICT within their teaching and learning environments to document children’s learning. They considered that using ICT supported the visibility of children’s learning experiences despite the negative effects.

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