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Teachers’ digital literacy and digital activity as digital divide components among basic schools in Ghana

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Abstract

This survey-based study explores the nature of Digital Divide among Ghana’s basic (primary and junior high) schools from the perspective of Teachers’ Digital Literacy and their usage of digital technologies in school. The ICT-enhanced Teacher Standards for Africa (ICTeTSA) Framework comprising digital attitude, knowledge, skills and application components was used for measuring the perceived Teacher Digital Literacy, while, the European Union’s rubrics for measuring ICT frequency in schools was adopted for estimating the extent of teachers’ digital technology usage/activities. The study covered six districts in Ghana with 233 teachers (n = 233) sampled from 45 schools. Based perceptions of the Teacher Digital Literacy two significantly different Digital Divide clusters were found among schools that diverged based on the teachers’ digital application component of Teacher Digital Literacy. While, most schools teachers claimed an above average level of Teacher Digital Literacy; however, more than 50% of the schools are digitally proactive. Suggesting that teachers appear not to be actually using ICT tools and digital resources for professional practice. The cluster of schools differentiated by the extent of digital activities (TDA) were performed weekly. The study reveals several critical issues of teachers’ digital empowerment for technology in Ghana’s basic schools, of which school-based management (SBM) governance be adapted to address them.

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  1. School of Digital Technologies, Centre for Educational Technology, Tallinn University, Narva mnt 29, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

    James Sunney Quaicoe & Kai Pata

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Quaicoe, J.S., Pata, K. Teachers’ digital literacy and digital activity as digital divide components among basic schools in Ghana. Educ Inf Technol 25, 4077–4095 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10158-8

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