Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools

Abstract There have been few studies on students’ difficulty in the computer studies curriculum of African senior secondary schools. This study attempts to fill this gap by investigating the concepts students find difficult in the Ghanaian and Nigerian computer science curriculum and the influence o...

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Main Authors: Olasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi, Fred Awaah, Peter A. Okebukola, Juma Shabani, Onoriode Collins Potokri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2022-06-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01215-3
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author Olasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi
Fred Awaah
Peter A. Okebukola
Juma Shabani
Onoriode Collins Potokri
author_facet Olasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi
Fred Awaah
Peter A. Okebukola
Juma Shabani
Onoriode Collins Potokri
author_sort Olasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract There have been few studies on students’ difficulty in the computer studies curriculum of African senior secondary schools. This study attempts to fill this gap by investigating the concepts students find difficult in the Ghanaian and Nigerian computer science curriculum and the influence of students’ career interests on these perceived difficult concepts. The study is important to the extent that our understanding of “where the shirt tights” regarding topics difficulty will guide teachers, students, secondary schools’ managers, and governments in applying applicable remediating measures. The study sought to establish (a) the concepts that students perceive to be difficult in the computer studies curriculum in Ghanaian and Nigerian schools and (b) if there is a statistically significant relationship between students’ career interests and perceived concept difficulty in computer studies. Anchored on cognitive constructivism theory of Piaget, a quantitative method was employed with the sample (N = 1776). The study reports computer basics and evolution, programme development cycle, managing computer files, Developing problem-solving skills, computer ethics and human concerns, Networking, Logic circuits, Machine language, flowcharting, Algorithm and arithmetic logic unit as perceived difficult concepts. The study also found a negative statistically significant relationship between students’ career interests and perceived concept difficulty in the Ghanaian and Nigerian computer studies curriculum. Various remediating measures have been preferred.
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spelling doaj.art-bf628827da774573826a012f8ac732f62022-12-22T02:33:08ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922022-06-01911610.1057/s41599-022-01215-3Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schoolsOlasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi0Fred Awaah1Peter A. Okebukola2Juma Shabani3Onoriode Collins Potokri4Lagos State UniversityUniversity of Professional StudiesLagos State UniversityUniversity of BurundiUniversity of JohannesburgAbstract There have been few studies on students’ difficulty in the computer studies curriculum of African senior secondary schools. This study attempts to fill this gap by investigating the concepts students find difficult in the Ghanaian and Nigerian computer science curriculum and the influence of students’ career interests on these perceived difficult concepts. The study is important to the extent that our understanding of “where the shirt tights” regarding topics difficulty will guide teachers, students, secondary schools’ managers, and governments in applying applicable remediating measures. The study sought to establish (a) the concepts that students perceive to be difficult in the computer studies curriculum in Ghanaian and Nigerian schools and (b) if there is a statistically significant relationship between students’ career interests and perceived concept difficulty in computer studies. Anchored on cognitive constructivism theory of Piaget, a quantitative method was employed with the sample (N = 1776). The study reports computer basics and evolution, programme development cycle, managing computer files, Developing problem-solving skills, computer ethics and human concerns, Networking, Logic circuits, Machine language, flowcharting, Algorithm and arithmetic logic unit as perceived difficult concepts. The study also found a negative statistically significant relationship between students’ career interests and perceived concept difficulty in the Ghanaian and Nigerian computer studies curriculum. Various remediating measures have been preferred.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01215-3
spellingShingle Olasunkanmi A. Gbeleyi
Fred Awaah
Peter A. Okebukola
Juma Shabani
Onoriode Collins Potokri
Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
title_full Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
title_fullStr Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
title_full_unstemmed Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
title_short Influence of students’ career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in Ghanaian and Nigerian secondary schools
title_sort influence of students career interests on perceived difficult concept in computer studies in ghanaian and nigerian secondary schools
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01215-3
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