Utilization of the Social Media in Decision Making and Communication in Secondary Schools in Delta State of Nigeria

The study examined the utilization of the social media, in decision makingand communication, in secondary schools, in Delta State of Nigeria.Two (2) research questions and 2 hypotheses were answered and testedin the study, respectively. The design of the study was the analyticdescriptive survey, with the population as the 447 public secondaryschools in Delta State, with a corresponding number of 447 principals,who served as participants. From the 447 principals, 358 were selectedas the sample, for the study, using the proportionate stratified randomsampling technique. The subjects of the study responded to a validated23-item instrument titled ‘Social Media Utilization in Secondary SchoolDecision Making and Communication Scale’ (SMUSSDMCS 1) designedby the researchers in the modified 4-point Likert scale model, with areliability index of 0.77, determined using the Cronbach Alpha statistics.Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the researchquestions while z. test was used in testing the hypotheses at 5% level of significance. The results of the study show that, to a high extent andvery high extent, the social media are utilized in secondary school decisionmaking and communication, respectively apart from establishing nosignificant differences between the mean ratings of male and femaleprincipals on one hand and less experienced and experienced principals,on the extent, the social media are utilized in decision making and schoolcommunication in secondary schools in Delta State. It was thereforeconcluded that the social media are viable instrumentalities for secondaryschool decision making and communication. Recommendations are thatschool administrators and other stakeholders should continue to usethe social media in their decision making and communication, while alsoembracing the use of other Information and Communication Technology(ICT) oriented applications and making sure that newly appointedprincipals are exposed to the demands of ICT.