User:Farai Mudavanhu

Autobiography Outline FARAI MUDAVANHU Farai’s academic qualifications are: B.A Honours African Languages & Culture, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. Master of Social Science in development studies, Lupane State University, Zimbabwe. His areas of interest are: Social Media and Higher Education, Sustainable Livelihoods and Community Development, Monitoring and Evaluation. TITLE: IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON HIGHER EDUCATION STUDIES. A CASE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN ZIMBABWEAN UNIVERSITIES.

ABSTRACT Social media has become pervasive, impacting the social and cultural fabric of our society. It has revolutionized the way we communicate, interact and socialize (Al-Sharqi, Hashim and Kutbi, 2015). Higher education students, academics and members of universities use social media tools for many purposes such as access to information, group discussion, resource sharing and entertainment and student recruitment (Wang, Chen and Liang, 2011). This has generated speculation on their use and related positive and negative implications, in both the short and long terms. As several studies demonstrate, social media interaction could have positive and negative effects on students (Kist, 2008) and higher education institutions.The major aim is to provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of social media use in higher education and development and in doing so, provide criteria for the recognition of the mixed outcomes in the use of social media by both students and their teachers and members of the university. This will contribute to a fuller understanding of how social media can be utilized to enhance the development in higher education in Zimbabwean universities. This research is mainly anchored on the capabilities approach and human development. The researcher will look at two universities, a public university and a private church owned university, both in Zimbabwe (Great Zimbabwe University and Reformed Church of Zimbabwe University).