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EducationGenerative AI and Academic Integrity in Universities
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About This Research Topic Ask any lecturer what has changed most about student writing in the last two years, and the answer usually circles back to the same tool: ChatGPT. Within a single academic session, generative AI moved from a novelty to a near-default study companion for many undergraduates, sitting alongside textbooks and lecture notes rather than replacing them outright — at least in theory. In practice, the line between assistance and substitution has become difficult to police, and universities across Nigeria are only beginning to catch up. A recent study of undergraduate students in a public university in Rivers State puts numbers to what many educators have suspected: heavier generative AI use tracks with lower self-reported critical thinking scores, and it is a meaningful predictor of academically dishonest practices. If you are a student, supervisor, or researcher trying to make sense of your own findings on this topic, it can help to see how a similar chapter one is structured — you can browse the sample research library for comparable methodology and framing before you finalise your own. This article walks through that Rivers State study in full: what it measured, what it found, and what it means for how Nigerian universities write policy for the AI era. Main Abstract Generative AI tools — ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot chief among them — have moved from the margins to the mainstream of undergraduate academic life in a remarkably short window. This study set out to measure that shift among undergraduates at a public university in Rivers State, focusing specifically on two outcomes educators worry about most: independent critical thinking and academic integrity. Guided by five objectives, five research questions, and three hypotheses, the researcher surveyed 300 students drawn by stratified random sampling from the faculties of Education, Social Sciences, and Engineering, using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire; 268 responses were usable. The results, analysed with SPSS version 26 using both descriptive statistics and inferential tests (Pearson correlation and simple linear regression), showed a statistically significant negative relationship between the extent of generative AI use and students' self-reported critical thinking (r = -0.41, p < 0.05). Generative AI use also predicted academic integrity concerns, accounting for roughly 29% of the variance in self-reported dishonest academic practices. Beyond the numbers, the study found that institutional policy on generative AI is thin and inconsistently enforced, and that students themselves are uneasy about AI hallucination, unfair advantage in grading, and unequal access to paid AI tools. The overall conclusion is a balanced one: generative AI has genuine academic value, but using it without disclosure or institutional guardrails puts both independent thinking and academic honesty at risk. The study recommends clearer institutional policy, assessment redesign that is harder to outsource to AI, and deliberate AI-literacy and ethics teaching within the curriculum.
EducationBlended Learning and Academic Achievement: A Study of Senior Secondary School Students in Mathematics in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
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About This Research Topic Mathematics is the subject Nigerian secondary school students most consistently struggle with on WASSCE, and the conventional, lecture-heavy way it's usually taught keeps getting pointed to as part of the problem. This article draws on a quasi-experimental study conducted in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, that tested a specific alternative head-to-head against the conventional method: does blending face-to-face teaching with digital learning resources actually raise Mathematics test scores, and does it help boys and girls equally? Readers following related education technology research may want to look at our study on technology integration in Port Harcourt classroom instruction , a useful companion piece from a neighbouring state. What follows sets out the background to the study, the problem it investigates, its objectives and hypotheses, and what its findings mean for Mathematics teachers, school administrators, and education policymakers. Main Abstract This study investigated blended learning and academic achievement among selected senior secondary school students in Mathematics in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. It was guided by three objectives: establishing baseline equivalence between experimental and control groups before treatment, determining the effect of blended learning on Mathematics achievement compared with the conventional teaching method, and examining the influence of gender on achievement among students exposed to blended learning. The study adopted a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design using intact SS2 Mathematics classes. From a population of 480 SS2 students offering Mathematics across four purposively selected secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area, a sample of 120 students was drawn through intact class sampling, with two classes (n = 60) assigned as the experimental blended-learning group and two classes (n = 60) assigned as the control group taught through the conventional method. A 40-item, researcher-developed Mathematics Achievement Test covering Quadratic Equations, Trigonometric Ratios, Statistics, and Mensuration was validated using a Table of Specification and administered as a pretest and, after a six-week instructional intervention, as a posttest. The instrument's reliability was established at KR-20 = 0.82. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test at the 0.05 significance level in SPSS version 26. Pretest scores showed no statistically significant difference between the experimental group (M = 42.3, SD = 8.1) and the control group (M = 41.6, SD = 7.9), t(118) = 0.51, p > 0.05, confirming baseline equivalence. Following the intervention, the blended learning group achieved significantly higher posttest scores (M = 68.7, SD = 9.4) than the conventional group (M = 57.2, SD = 10.1), t(118) = 6.42, p < 0.05, with a considerably higher mean gain score of 26.4 versus 15.6 for the control group. No statistically significant difference emerged between male (M = 69.5, SD = 9.0) and female (M = 67.7, SD = 9.8) students within the blended learning group, t(58) = 0.75, p > 0.05. The study concludes that blended learning is significantly more effective than conventional teaching in improving Mathematics achievement, and that its benefits accrue similarly to male and female students, recommending that Mathematics teachers be trained and supported in delivering blended learning instruction and that schools be equipped with the digital infrastructure needed to sustain it.
EducationTeacher Digital Competence and Student Performance
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This study examined teachers' digital competence and students' academic performance in selected public secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. The study was guided by three objectives: to determine the level of digital competence among secondary school teachers in the selected schools, to examine the relationship between teachers' digital competence and students' academic performance, and to identify the challenges militating against the development of teachers' digital competence. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population comprised 340 teachers in five purposively selected public secondary schools, from which a sample size of 184 was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. A structured questionnaire titled “Teachers' Digital Competence Scale (TDCS)”, validated by experts and tested for reliability using Cronbach's Alpha (α = 0.85), was used to measure teachers' digital competence across four domains: basic ICT operation skills, use of digital teaching tools and resources, digital content creation and assessment, and online communication and digital citizenship. Students' academic performance was obtained from school records as the mean examination score of one class taught by each sampled teacher in the immediate past academic term. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages and mean scores) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation, independent samples t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance) at the 0.05 level of significance, with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Findings revealed that the overall level of digital competence among teachers in the selected schools was moderate (grand mean = 3.02), with basic ICT operation skills rated highest and digital content creation/assessment skills rated lowest. A statistically significant positive relationship was found between teachers' digital competence and students' academic performance (r = 0.554, p < 0.05). Furthermore, students taught by teachers with high digital competence had significantly higher mean performance scores (M = 68.4, SD = 9.2) than those taught by teachers with low digital competence (M = 59.7, SD = 10.5), t(182) = 6.13, p < 0.05. However, no statistically significant difference was found in teachers' digital competence based on years of teaching experience (F = 2.15, p > 0.05). Inadequate ICT infrastructure and internet connectivity, insufficient training opportunities, high workload, inadequate funding and epileptic power supply were identified as the major challenges confronting the development of teachers' digital competence. The study concluded that teachers' digital competence has a significant positive influence on students' academic performance, but that this competence remains at a moderate level constrained by infrastructural, training and funding deficits. It was recommended, among others, that government and school authorities should institute regular, structured ICT training programmes for teachers, improve school ICT infrastructure, and incorporate digital competence assessment into teacher performance appraisal. Keywords: Digital Competence, Teacher Effectiveness, Academic Performance, ICT in Education, Educational Technology
EducationTechnology Integration in Classroom Instruction: A Study of Selected Public Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt City
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About This Research Topic Government and donor-funded ICT infrastructure has reached a good number of Nigerian public secondary schools over the past few years — computer labs, projectors, occasionally interactive whiteboards. Whether that hardware actually changes what happens in the classroom is a separate question entirely. This article draws on a study of public secondary schools in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Rivers State, that investigates exactly that gap: how much technology integration is actually happening, what determines it, and whether it improves instructional quality where it occurs. Readers interested in a closely related question — how smart classroom technology plays out in the private school sector of the same state — may want to look at our study of smart classrooms in Obio/Akpor private secondary schools , a natural companion to this one. What follows sets out the background to the study, the problem it investigates, its objectives and hypotheses, and what its findings suggest for school administrators, teachers, and education policymakers. Main Abstract This study examined technology integration in classroom instruction, focusing on selected public secondary schools in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Rivers State. The growing availability of digital tools such as computers, projectors, interactive whiteboards, and internet-enabled devices has generated real interest in how far teachers actually integrate these tools into everyday classroom instruction, and what effect that integration has on teaching and learning quality. The study was guided by five objectives, five research questions, and three hypotheses examining the influence of ICT infrastructure availability, teachers' ICT competence, and institutional support on the extent of technology integration and its effect on instructional quality. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire built on a five-point Likert scale was administered to a sample of 280 teachers drawn from eight purposively selected public secondary schools, using stratified random sampling from a population of 850 teachers. Data from 262 valid respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation and simple linear regression) using SPSS version 26. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between technology integration and the quality of classroom instruction (r = 0.63, p < 0.05), and that teachers' ICT competence significantly predicted the extent of technology integration, accounting for approximately 33% of the variance. The study also found that inadequate ICT infrastructure, insufficient training opportunities, large class sizes, and epileptic power supply were major barriers to effective integration in the selected schools. It concludes that technology integration is a significant driver of instructional quality and recommends increased investment in school ICT infrastructure, regular in-service ICT training for teachers, and the incorporation of technology-based pedagogy into teacher professional development programmes in Rivers State.
EducationSmart Classrooms and Effective Teaching: A Study of Selected Private Secondary Schools in Obio/Akpor, Rivers State
Admin
About This Research Topic Private secondary schools across Nigeria have spent real money kitting out classrooms with interactive whiteboards, projectors, and learning management systems — but does that hardware actually make teaching better? This article draws on a study of private secondary schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, that puts that question to the test, examining whether smart classroom utilisation genuinely improves effective teaching, and what stands in the way when it doesn't. Readers interested in how educational technology is being studied and applied elsewhere in Nigeria may want to look at our AI-powered chatbot for student academic advising , a related project on technology in Nigerian education. What follows sets out the background to the study, the problem it investigates, its objectives and hypotheses, and what its findings mean for school proprietors, teachers, and education policymakers. Main Abstract This study examined smart classrooms and effective teaching, focusing on selected private secondary schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State. Smart classrooms — equipped with technologies such as interactive whiteboards, smart projectors, learning management systems, and internet-enabled devices — are increasingly being adopted by private schools on the expectation that such technologies will improve the quality and effectiveness of classroom teaching. The study was guided by five objectives, five research questions, and three hypotheses examining the availability of smart classroom facilities, teachers' utilisation of smart classroom tools, teacher preparedness, and their combined effect on effective teaching. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire built on a five-point Likert scale was administered to a sample of 180 teachers drawn from six purposively selected private secondary schools with smart classroom facilities, using stratified random sampling from a population of 310 teachers. Data from 168 valid respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation and simple linear regression) using SPSS version 26. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between smart classroom utilisation and effective teaching (r = 0.66, p < 0.05), and that teacher preparedness significantly predicted the extent of smart classroom utilisation, accounting for approximately 36% of the variance. The study also found that inadequate technical support, insufficient training on the pedagogical use of smart classroom tools, and occasional equipment malfunction were notable barriers to optimal use. It concludes that smart classroom utilisation is a significant driver of effective teaching, and recommends sustained investment in teacher training on the pedagogical use of these technologies, dedicated technical support, and regular equipment maintenance.
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