The Relationship between Home Learning and Accessibility of Study Materials by Secondary School Students in Ibanda County, Ibanda District Western Uganda

Abstract

The study assessed the effect of home learning on the accessibility of study materials by secondary school students in Ibanda County, Ibanda. It was guided by the following objectives; assessing forms of home learning that were used by secondary school students, determining the level of accessibility of study materials among secondary students, and assessing the relationship between home learning and accessibility of study materials by secondary school students. The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. The population for this study included secondary school teachers, students, headteachers, DEO. Headteachers participated in the study because they were responsible for implementing and monitoring school programs. Quantitative data was analyzed using the computer-based program called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Qualitative data collected was subjected to the inductive data analysis procedure. Results indicated that the majority of the respondents 210 (69.1%) agreed that students are able to easily access the Internet as needed for their studies. The majority of the respondents 218 (71.7%) agreed that students are comfortable communicating electronically through internet. The majority of the respondents 223 (73.4%) agreed that students access newspapers with study content. The findings further indicated that there was a moderate statistically significant relationship between home learning and accessibility of study materials by secondary school students at (P=0.000<0.01, r=0.226). It was concluded that there are different forms of home learning used by secondary school students in Ibanda County, Ibanda District such as internet, deliveries and one to one. It was also concluded that there was effective accessibility of study materials among secondary school students. It was recommended that the government through ministry of education should promote home learning by improving internet facilities, devices for students and teachers, among others.