EFFECTS OF COMPUTER-SUPPORTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC MOTIVATION IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Keywords:
Academic motivation, computer-supported learning environment, self-determination theory, secondary education, Nasarawa StateAbstract
Whether a computer-based learning environment can perform motivational functions that Self-Determination Theory (SDT) ordinarily attributes to an autonomy-supportive teacher is a question with direct practical consequences in school systems where ICT infrastructure is expanding faster than pedagogical capacity. This study examined that question through a school-based quasi-experimental investigation involving 110 Senior Secondary Two (SS 2) students in Lafia Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Participants were drawn from two government secondary schools: one school (n = 55, Government Secondary School, Lafia) received an eight-week compound intervention combining an autonomy-supportive Computer-Supported Learning Environment (CSLE) with trained teacher facilitation and structured research monitoring; the other (n = 55, Government Secondary School, Shabu) continued with conventional teacher-directed instruction. The CSLE incorporated four design features derived from SDT: technology-mediated choice provision, digital rationale transparency, informational computerised feedback, and self-paced progression. Academic motivation was assessed at pre-test and post-test using the Academic Motivation Scale, Secondary (AMS-S), covering five SDT-aligned subscales. A post-test-only Perceived Autonomy Support in Computer-Supported Learning Environments scale (PAS-CSLE), a preliminary researcher-developed fidelity instrument, was also administered. One-way MANOVA yielded a significant and large multivariate group difference, Wilks' L = .187, F(5, 104) = 90.81, p < .001, multivariate eta2 = .813, with all five univariate follow-up tests significant in theoretically coherent directions. The study was associated with multidimensional motivational differences consistent with SDT predictions, though the magnitude of effects warrants caution given the two-school design, the compound intervention, and several plausible alternative explanations including novelty effects and teacher-training effects. Findings are positioned as preliminary contextual evidence supporting the applicability of SDT autonomy-support principles to digital learning design in Nigerian public secondary schools.References
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