SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF COMPUTER LABORATORY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN THEIR SCHOOL

ABSTRACT

This study focused on senior high school students’ perception of their computer

laboratory learning environment and how the use of computers affects their learning in

urban and community senior high schools. Data was obtained with the Computer

Laboratory Environment Inventory questionnaire, administered to 278 second year senior

high school students. The sample consisted of 171 males (61.5%) and 107 females

(38.5%) with a mean age of students being 17.4 years. The data were analyzed using

SPSS to find how frequent students experience a particular factor that affect them when

in the computer laboratory and also the difference in how male and female students

perceive their computer laboratory learning environment as measured using the t-test.

Four factors, supply material environment, integration, supervision and reliable

material environment, were found to influence students’ perception of their computer

laboratory environment. The findings revealed that students’ general perception of their

computer laboratory environments in both school types were positive but significantly

different in favour of those in urban schools. The findings suggest that serious efforts

must be made by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to improve the material environment,

particularly, in Community schools. These schools lack the necessary facilities required

to perform practical activities in the laboratory. The acquisition of manipulative and

recoding skills which are tied to the context of a laboratory and are emphasized by the

MOE and the West African Examination Council will continue to be lacking if this is not

done.