The Influence of Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Educational Technologies on Lesson Planning and Learning Performance

Abstract

The research sought to explore teachers' and students’ viewpoints on the implementation of educational technologies in the Junior High Schools (JHS) in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District (EJMD) in Ghana. The researcher focused on fifteen (15) Junior High Schools in the district, 225 students and 74 teachers. The study employed a convenient sampling approach to select the participants based on proximity, and the willingness of the school, teacher and student to participate in the study. Two sets of questionnaires were designed, each for the teachers and students. The researcher adopted a two-way approach in the data collection process, thus using online and drop-and-pick-later methods. SPSS was used to run the data analysis. Firstly, the study established that there is a considerable influence of educational technologies on lesson planning, teaching and learning. Most teachers were fully convinced that educational technology integration would improve the overall quality of teaching and learning. The statistical analysis established a positive link between educational technologies and learning performance.  In addition, the study discovered that a good lesson plan indirectly improves students' learning performance. The researcher recommended that extensive engagement forums between parents, teachers, school authorities and district educational board members are required to address the challenges of integrating educational technologies in teaching and learning. Also, teachers need support from schools or districts in terms of professional development and resources for integrating educational technology.