Impact of Digital Literacy Skills on Students' Engagement and Academic Performance in Senior Secondary Schools in Chikun Local Government, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of digital literacy skills on students’ engagement and academic performance among senior secondary school students in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State. The purpose of the study was to investigate how digital literacy skills impact student’s engagement and academic performance in Chikun Local Government. 272 senior secondary school students were randomly selected out of 10 public secondary schools in Chikun Local Government, 148 of which were male and 124 female students. Two, research questions with their correspondent hypotheses Guided the study i.e what is the relationship between digital literacy, students’ engagement, and academic performance in senior secondary school students in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State? there is no significant relationship between digital literacy skills, students’ engagement, and academic performance in senior secondary school students in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State. Data collection utilized the "Digital Literacy Skills and Student Engagement Questionnaire (DLSSEQ) and Academic performance data were gathered from students' GPA records. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypothesis at a significance level of 0.05. The findings indicated that digital literacy skills significantly influence both students’ engagement (p = 0.01, r = 0.323) and academic performance (p = 0.04, r = 0.622**). Consequently, the study concluded that digital literacy skills have a substantial impact on student engagement and academic performance in senior secondary school students in Chikun Local Government, Kaduna State. Based on these results, recommendations included increasing the availability of computers, tablets, e-textbooks, educational apps, and online resources in classrooms to enhance students' digital skills. Furthermore, it emphasized the necessity for government and school administrators to develop reliable methods for assessing students' digital literacy skills, including appropriate metrics and assessment tools for evaluating digital competencies.