Influence of School Closure on the Adoption of Digital Learning of English Language in Kapseret Subcounty, Kenya

Abstract

From time to time, school calendars have suffered disruptions due to a myriad of crises. Recently, COVID-19 led to abrupt and indefinite closure of schools globally forcing most governments and schools to embrace digital learning as a matter of urgency so as to mitigate the adverse impacts of prolonged school closure on learning. This study sought to determine the influence of school closure on the adoption of Digital Learning of English Language (DLEL) in Kapseret Subcounty, Kenya. Based on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory, the study employed descriptive research design to collect the data. The study targeted a total of 2,173 respondents including 2,092 form three students, 49 Teachers of English and 32 head teachers from the 32 high schools in Kapseret Sub County. The schools included 13 private and 19 public with a student population of 458 and 1,634 form three students respectively. 32 schools in Kapseret were stratified as public (19) and Private (13) from which a sample of 11 schools, comprising 7 public and 4 privates, were derived proportionately. The samples size was 327 respondents. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 20. Data was analysed descriptively and presented in tables and figures in form of frequencies and percentages. Results revealed that 95% of the respondents had access to some digital devices and 72.3% had access to internet even though 60.2% rarely or never used the accessible internet for academic purposes. Majority of the students, 46.9%, who interacted with their teachers during the school closure did so via social media, specifically WhatsApp, while 31.3% used the school portal. The rest interacted through phone calls and short message services. There is need to equip both teachers and students with the right digital platform and skills for academic purposes for effective content delivery, evaluation and interaction of English language learning