Digital Pedagogy Resources in Chemistry Education: Awareness, Utilisation, and Demographic Correlates among Secondary School Teachers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite growing policy interest in digital pedagogy, chemistry teachers in Nigerian secondary schools appear to have limited awareness and use of available online digital instructional resources. This study investigated secondary school chemistry teachers’ awareness and utilisation of online chemistry instructional resources in Kwara State, Nigeria, and examined whether gender, teaching experience, and professional qualification were associated with these variables. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and covered the total population of 234 chemistry teachers through a census approach. Data were collected using the Online Chemistry Instructional Resources Questionnaire (OCIRQ), which assessed awareness and utilisation of 46 online resources on separate three-point scales. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the first two research questions, while chi-square tests of independence were used to examine associations between demographic characteristics and the categorical distributions of awareness and utilisation. Of the 46 resources examined, only one recorded a mean awareness score above 2.0 in the high-awareness category, while 15 met or exceeded the benchmark for adequate awareness. For utilisation, 12 resources met or exceeded the 2.0 benchmark, although none was frequently used by a majority of teachers. The chi-square analyses revealed no statistically significant associations between gender, teaching experience, or professional qualification and either awareness or utilisation (p > .05). The findings indicate that the observed limitations were not significantly differentiated across the demographic groups examined. The study therefore recommends coordinated attention to digital infrastructure, TPACK-oriented professional development, subject-specific resource curation, and institutional support.