ASSESSING THE TRANSFORMATIONAL IMPACT OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES ON TEACHING AND LEARNING IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: POST-COVID-19 CHALLENGES AND PROGRESS

Abstract

This study investigated extent to which educators and students incorporate digital communication technologies and examined its impact on teaching practices and learning outcomes after covid-19 lockdown. Twenty-one (21) public secondary schools in Lagos state participated in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers, administrators, and students. Accurate and reliable transcriptions approaches were upheld, while thematic analysis was employed. Findings revealed a very low integration of digital communication technologies among public secondary schools post-covid-19. In all, 86% of schools visited had computer laboratories with about 15-30 desktop computers, while 14% had between 30 and 50 computers, though without internet access. School administrators had desktop computers in their offices, 48% of teachers had personal laptops, while only 19% of students said they have a personal laptop that connects to the internet at home. All respondents use smartphones, although students are not officially allowed to use them in school. Printers were only available in offices of school administrators; no classroom in any school had interactive boards, projectors/projector screens, or any other form of digital communication devices. It was concluded that teaching and learning in most public secondary schools continued in the manner they were carried out pre-covid-19, with digital communication technology having little impact despite the experience during lockdown. Efforts by government and stakeholders in the education sector has to be directed towards integrating contemporary teaching and learning methods driven by technology to bring students up-to date with emerging trends.