DIGITAL LITERACY, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND SKILL ACQUISITION OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

 

Skill acquisition has been a major challenge in the 21^st century for business education students to an extent that employers are complaining that graduates do not possess requisite skills to make them functional. It is in line with that this study was conducted to examine digital literacy, academic performance and skill acquisition of business education students in tertiary institutions in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study stated two specific purposes which are to determine the extent of influence of digital literacy on Business Education Students’ academic performance, and communication skills. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 1,161 lecturers and students in Business education departments in the tertiary institutions in Kaduna State. The Research Advisor Table was used to select a sample of 290 respondents. The proportionate sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Influence of Digital Literacy on Business Education Students Academic Performance and Skill Acquisition Questionnaire (IDLBESAPSAQ) contained 20 items was used to collect data. The instrument was validated by three experts and a Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficient of 0.87 was calculated for the instrument. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while independent samples t-test statistic was the tool used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference between lecturers and students’ responses regarding academic performance (t=1.753;df=288;p>0.05) and communication skills (t=1.930;df=288;p>0.05). The study concludes that digital literacy has significant influence on academic performance and skill acquisition. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study it was recommended that the management of tertiary institutions should promote and encourage teachers and students to use relevant digital technologies to acquire communication skills.