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THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) ON MORAL BEHAVIOURS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the Study

Nigeria as a country, has since embraced the use of information communication technology (ICT) in storage, process and retrieval of important information. Nigeria has also been noted as a country that is aspiring to be recorded in the comity of nations, as one which has adapted to the e-world, whereby ICT is the in-thing. For instance, in Nigeria, information communication technology is applied in the educational, political, economic and religious circles. It has so much infiltrated Nigeria that, these days anyone who is not computer literate is seen as not educated at all (Nwafor, 2005). The above opinion summarises the essence and effect of ICT on the overall activities of Nigerians and Nigeria. 

It is worthy to note that, since the advent of information communication technology (ICT), moral decadence has been on the increase (Anyanwu, 2000). This is because most crimes in the society these days, have been connected with the use or contact with the gadgets that associate with information technology like the phone, the internet, the television and so on.

The term ‘information’, encompasses a wide range and variety of things ranging from oral and printed words, figures, statements, files and documents to such intangible elements as sounds, signals, rays and waves. Whatever the form information takes, the essence of information is that it conveys a message. UNESCO (1979) defined information simply as “set of data recorded in a methodical manner”, which according to the document includes any item of knowledge capable of facilitating the operation of a system and any numerical or alpha-numerical quantity processed by the machine. The aggregate of information constitutes the data and results of a problem.

According to Ajaiyi (2004), the term ‘technology’, refers to the application of scientific knowledge. Information technology, can be defined as the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictoral, textual and numerical information by a macro-base combination of computing and telecommunication. Telecommunication is a special form of communication in which information is conveyed over long distance. Information technology also refers to more efficient way of storing, accessing and updating information than process involving paper.

Behaviour connotes the way in which an organism, a machine or any substance acts or works. In the case of human beings, behaviour has two aspects, the private and the overt. The private is known by the behaviour a person exhibits in his/her environment, while the overt, though linked with the private, is observable by other persons in the person’s world. Behaviour is a cooperative action between the internal equipment of the person and the nature of the environment, which the person undergoes. If the environmental stimulation is constituently strong enough, the internal equipment of the organism reacts to it in a predictable pattern. Repetitions thus lead to habits formation (Allports, 2005).

As Pitty (2000) puts it, behaviour of a person is judged desirable or undesirable in a social context. What is desirable in one social situation may be undesirable in another. The desirable or undesirable is concerned with relationship between antecedent conditions and consequent events. Antecedent conditions refer to happenings in a person’s social environment while the consequent events refer to the outcomes of these happenings which may be appreciated or unappreciated. Environmental happenings take time to register their effects on the individual. In other words, the effects of the environment are cumulative and lasting. According to Uzor (2001), individual’s behaviour manifestation of today, may be functionally related to events that take place in the life of that individual prior to those manifestations.

Ekpo (2002) observed that information received by students on the computer, television and telephone can change or modify behaviour. The information can generate new responses or change old ones depending on the degree of observation permitted the socializing individual and on the type of imitation he/she can have of the behaviours and attitudes exhibited by his models. Although the forces of development are primarily within the individual. The environment plays a secondary role in the process of natural enfoldment of that which nature has enfolded within the individual in a natural environment free from corruption. If the information is positive and conducive, individual will develop positively and behave rationally, but if otherwise negative, the development may be detrimental (Ajumel and Almonde, 2003).

According to Adams (2004), the interactionist position of individuals with the type, quantity and quality of information received explains better the concept of individual differences in a culture or a system or organisation whose tendency is to mould the people is the same. The training that is given to children in order to help them meet the demands of the society in which they live is called socialization. Information technology can be used to assist students in the following ways: getting along with others (respecting others’ rights); self-reliance or self-confidence; achieving educational success; achieving material success; achieving professional success and adhering to societal value system.

Morals are concerned with standards of behaviour, which constitute the fundamental principles which guide people to know what is right or what is wrong, and correspondingly, what is good and what is bad. That is to say that morals guide people towards the right direction and enable the society to appreciate and preserve some fundamental virtues like love, honesty, self-control, modesty, chastity, truthfulness, discipline and so on. At the same time, morals govern the welfare of people and sharpen their attitudes like cheating in examinations or corrupt practices in the society, selfishness, dishonesty, greed, theft, robbery, fornication or adultery and so on (Adekoya, 2002).

Adekoya is of the opinion that the use of ICT by adolescents in schools, has made some of them to perform poorly in their examinations. According to him, what does one expect from a student who does not read or study well due to much time given to watching television programmes, watching or viewing pornographic films on the internet and busy posting letters to friends on the facebook or u-tube etc. Not only making them to achieve low or dismal academic performance, the use of ICT has caused some adolescents to be recluses i.e. keeping to themselves in order to have time to view bad films on the internet. This has affected their social adjustment with their peers in the society or at home.

Uzor (2006) believes that the use of ICT has caused male and female students to become promiscuous due to the negative influence it has created in them. This is because, adolescents practice what they see and hear either through the television or the web site etc.

Due to the advent of information communications technology, adolescents in schools these days, use the telephones, the internets, and other forms of (ICT) to gather information which help them to carry out their educational pursuits effectively. Nevertheless, adolescents use of the ICT, in any case, has brought about many ills in the society. For instance, many students tell a lot of lies using their phones, while many of them corrupt their minds through the internet by opening the pornographic sites and viewing the corruptive and weird pictures. Through this medium, they become corrupt, promiscuous, dishonest and immoral (Bello, 2008). This study attempts to find out the extent ICT affects the morality of individuals, especially the students in our various secondary schools.

1.2Statement of the Problems

The essence of this study is to examine whether the use of ICT by adolescents in school, has affected their moral and ethical behaviours at home and in the school, and whether the Nigeria school system and the society have faired well since the advent of ICT or not.

There is no gainsaying the fact that, since the advent of the telephones, internet, the facebook or the u-tube, the society and the school have had their fair shares of the ills associated with ICT. For instance, the advent of ICT has caused some of the Nigerian youths in schools, to imbibe the culture of lying, stealing electronically (i.e. the famous yahoo-yahoo) that is in vogue now, cheat at examinations and tests. Others corrupt their minds through the viewing of weird or pornographic pictures in the internet. These, by implication, has led some of the Nigerian youths or adolescents in schools, to become corrupt, promiscuous and immoral in behaviour or attitudes.

Not only that, the use of ICT by the young ones may have made many adolescents to become deviants, obtaining by tricks (OBT), prostitutes, bullies, disrespectful to authority figures in the society and the school. All this come as a result of what they hear, learn and view from the use of ICT materials that have invaded the entire world today.

The above identified problems gave rise to the study of ICT and moral behaviour of adolescents in schools.

1.3Purpose of the Study

The major objectives of this study include to:

(1)         find out if ICT influences students’ moral behaviours.

(2)         examine whether a relationship exists between ICT and students’ academic performance.

(3)         investigate whether gender difference exists in the delinquent behaviours of students as a result of the use of information communication technology.

(4)         determine whether there is relationship between the use of ICT and adolescents’ social adjustment in the school.

1.4Research Questions

The following research questions were raised:

(1)         Will the use of ICT influence students’ moral behaviour?

(2)         Is there any relationship between the use of ICT and students’ academic performance?

(3)         Will there be significant gender differences in the delinquent behaviours of students due to the use of ICT?

(4)         Is there a relationship between the use of ICT and adolescents’ social adjustment in the school?

1.5Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated in this study:

(1)         Information communication technology will not have any significant influence on students’ moral behaviours.

(2)         There will be no significant relationship between the use of ICT and students’ academic performance in school.

(3)         There will be no significant gender differences in the delinquent behaviour of students due to the use of ICT in school.

(4)         There will be no significant relationship between the use of ICT and adolescents’ social adjustment in the school.

1.6Significance of the Study

This study will be beneficial to the following:

The Teachers: The teachers in our various institutions – primary, secondary and tertiary, would benefit from the recommendations and findings of this study. This is because the findings and recommendations of this study would go a long way in unraveling to the teachers more on the influences of ICT on the moral and religious behaviour of the adolescents in schools, especially at the secondary school level.

The Students: Would find this study very beneficial, because it will serve as an eye opener to them. No doubt, the use of ICT is very key to the academic careers of the adolescents but suffice it to say that the ills inherent in the use of ICT cannot be over emphasized. So, this study intends to fill the gap between the use of ICT and the immorality associated with it amongst the youths in schools. This study will help students to develop interest in the use and application of various information communication technologies in storing and retrieval of necessary information regarding the academic performance and educational careers.

The School Authority will equally benefit from this study because it will enable them to understand the way forward in solving the problem(s) caused by the students’ use of the ICT and its effect on the general well being of the school system.

Parents: Parents will derive necessary or vital information from the findings and conclusions of this study, because it will help them to be aware of the use and importance of information communication technology to their children and wards.

Society: The society will equally derive some vital benefits from the findings and conclusions of this study. For instance, this study will be an eye opener to the members of the larger society, in that it will help them to be in the know concerning the use of information communication technology by students and others at school and in the society.

1.7Scope of the Study

The study covered the influence of ICT on moral behaviours of the adolescents in some selected secondary schools in Oshodi Government Area of Lagos State.

1.8Definition of Terms

In this study, operational terms were defined accordingly.

Technology: Technology in this study refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It also refers to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware, software, systems, methods of organization and techniques. In this context, technology is regarded as the techniques used by individuals at school or the society in order to be in line with the world new discovery.

Innovation: The term is used in the study to refer to both radical and incremental changes to ICT products and processes. In the organizational context, innovation is linked to performance and growth through improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning, market share, etc.

Information Communication Technology (ICT): ICT generally referred to as Information Communication Technology and includes all electronic technologies and equipment used in facilitating information processing and communication.

Moral Behaviour:         This is a term used to denote the right behaviour or attitudes of an individual in a given community. It is the upholding of ethics, values and norms in a decent society. In this study, moral behaviour is defined as the way and manner an individual carries his or her self basically on ones religions belief.

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