The Contribution of Educational Technologies on Students’ Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Nyamagana District, Mwanza-Tanzania

Abstract

This paper intends to assess the contribution of educational technologies to students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Nyamagana District, Mwanza-Tanzania. This study was guided by the Theory of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) which was established by Matthew Koehler and Punya Mishra in 2006. This study employed the mixed research approach and a convergent parallel design. The study used a sample size of 84 teachers, 98 students, 4 heads of schools and 1 DEO. Moreover, stratified and simple random sampling was used to select teachers and students and purposive sampling was used to get heads of schools and DEO. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Validity was ensured through face and content validity checks, while reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.7. The results show that the adoption rate of educational technologies in public secondary schools in Nyamagana District is steadily increasing, driven by administrative support and positive perceptions from both teachers and students regarding technology's impact on learning outcomes. However, challenges such as insufficient training and inconsistent technological infrastructure persist, indicating areas needing improvement. The study reveals a significant upward trend in the adoption of educational technologies, emphasising the need for targeted enhancements in training and resources to ensure equitable access for all educators and students. It was recommended that policymakers prioritise comprehensive professional development for teachers and invest in reliable infrastructure to support effective technology integration in schools.