Effects of Mobile Phones on Students’ Academic Performance in Religious Education

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the mobile phones on high school students’ academic performance in Religious Education. The aim of the study was to test the efficiency using of mobile phones against the lecture method. Seventy-two participants (31 females and 41 males), in the Kingdom of Eswatini, participated in this quasi-experimental study. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who were randomly assigned to two groups (control and experimental). The control group was taught the topics, “The birth of the church and its spread” using a lecture method, whereas the experimental group was taught the same topic using mobile phones. The independent t-test and the dependent t-test were used to analyse data. The independent variable used was “teaching method,” with two levels: lecture versus mobile phones. The dependent variable was the participants’ scores derived from the pre-test and post-test. The independent t-test and the dependent t-test were used to analyze data. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in favor of the experimental group. The study concluded that the use of mobile phones improved students’ academic performance in Religious Education, and thus the integration use of mobile phones in the teaching of Religious Education is recommended in order to improve performance.