EVALUATING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FACEBOOK STUDY GROUPS IN ENHANCING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

The paper examines the potential role of social networks in teaching-learning activities by reviewing nine ‘Face book Study Groups' (FSGs) that have been functional since 2012. Secondary data was obtained by reviewing the comment-sections and posts on the Face book of 228 students from 9 subjects taught at Higher School Certificate, Graduation and Post-Graduation levels. Primary data was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews with nine students with regards to the types of questions, access to learning, timely intimations, revision, posting of relevant online resources on the page and dealing with absenteeism. Quantitative analysis of the data was performed by employing One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Statistically significant differences were found with regards to the type of questions: F (2, 226) = 70.197, p < .000. The interpretation of the interviews also identified the pertinent role played by the FSGs. The study recommends replication of the research in different settings by conducting more in-depth analysis of the phenomenon.