Abstract:
The study sought to determine the effectiveness of online learning techniques towards the quality of learning in Nyanga North Secondary Schools in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 era. The researcher was motivated to carry out the study by the alarming fall in pass rates by students in Nyanga North secondary schools in 2020 national examinations. The unexpected COVID 19 outbreak in 2019 led to subsequent national lockdowns which disrupted the normal way of social life. The emergence of the Covid 19 virus meant education across the globe had to take a new trajectory. The functionality of learning institutions was affected as strict measures were put in place to combat the spread of the deadly virus. The traditional leaning methods became less effective as the measures which were put into effect promoted distance learning to reduce physical contact between persons. It was therefore incumbent for schools and other learning institutions to embrace new methods of teaching and learning to bridge the gap created by national shutdowns so that learners would not leg behind with their syllabuses. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of online learning strategies towards the quality of learning in Nyanga North secondary schools. An exploratory research approach was adopted by the research to have a deep understanding of the problem area. The researchers made use of a qualitative research approach where questionnaires were used as the data collection instrument for the study. The population of the study consisted of students from 13 secondary schools in Nyanga North. The study population was 120 students randomly selected from the thirteen secondary schools. The questionnaire response rate was 80% with 96 out 120 students returning fully completed questionnaires. The findings of the study showed that the adoption of online learning was impeded by a number of factors including geographical location of the school, student backgrounds, nature of information and communication technology infrastructure in schools and the experience and knowledge of teachers towards advancing the online learning initiative. The researchers concluded that online learning techniques being adopted by teachers in Nyanga North are not being effective as the teachers do not have the knowhow on conducting online classes due to known and unknown reasons.
