SOCIAL MEDIA AND TEACHER'S EFFECTIVENESS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ONDO WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE

Despite the increasing use of social media in education, its direct impact on teachers’ effectiveness in Nigerian public secondary schools remains underexplored, particularly in Ondo West Local Government Area (LGA), Ondo State. While social media enhances communication, collaboration, and access to educational content, concerns persist regarding distraction, reduced in-person interaction, and over-reliance on non-pedagogical materials. Additional challenges include overcrowded classrooms, poor internet connectivity, limited device access, and inadequate digital training. This study examined the relationship between social media use and teachers’ effectiveness in public secondary schools within Ondo West LGA. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, involving 100 randomly selected teachers from five schools, using stratified sampling to ensure representation by gender, teaching experience, and subject area. Data were gathered through the Social Media and Teachers’ Effectiveness Questionnaire (SMTEQ), which measured demographic data, level of social media use, and teacher effectiveness in lesson planning, instructional delivery, classroom management, and student performance. Descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were employed at a 0.05 significance level. Results revealed significant positive correlations between specific platforms and teaching functions: WhatsApp with lesson planning [r(98)=0.450], Facebook with instructional delivery [r(98)=0.321], YouTube with student performance [r(98)=0.322], and Telegram with classroom management [r(98)=0.423]. The study concludes that purposeful integration of social media can enhance teacher effectiveness, provided infrastructural and training challenges are addressed. It recommends government and school investment in digital infrastructure, teacher ICT training, and policies guiding effective educational use of social media.