A qualitative study of sustainability of female teachers' digital literacy in the post-covid 19 era

Sulaimon Adewale; Onoriode Collins Potokri; Sulaimon Adewale; Onoriode Collins Potokri

doi:10.3934/steme.2025033

STEM Education

2025, Volume 5, Issue 4: 714-731. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025033

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A qualitative study of sustainability of female teachers' digital literacy in the post-covid 19 era

Sulaimon Adewale ^{1,
,
,},
Onoriode Collins Potokri ^{2
,}

1.
Department of Educational Foundations, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa; sulady.sa@gmail.com
2.
University of the Free State, South Africa; potokriOC@ufs.ac.za

Academic Editor: Madhu Dhar

Received: 08 January 2025 Revised: 13 June 2025 Accepted: 19 June 2025 Published: 08 July 2025

This study aimed to determine the sustainability of female teachers' digital literacy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period in Lagos State, Nigeria. This study adopted a phenomenology qualitative research method. A purposive sampling technique was utilized to select ten female participants from female public secondary school teachers in Lagos State. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using the QSR NVivo software, version 1.7.1. The study found, among other things, that all the benefits achieved by female teachers in digital literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic may be wasted if the challenges facing the sustainability of the skill are not addressed. In addition, the study found strategies that the educational stakeholders can employ, especially the government, to sustain digital literacy among female teachers during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. These findings imply that the education ministry should integrate digital literacy into the national teacher education curriculum to sustain the teachers' digital competence. School principals should advocate digital inclusion by setting up internal digital culture policies, information and communication (ICT) committees, and ensuring regular appraisal. The originality of this study can be found in the approach used by the researchers to seek strategies that educational stakeholders can employ to sustain digital literacy skills among female teachers.
- sustainability,
- digital literacy,
- post-COVID-19,
- female teachers,
- secondary schools,
- ICT
Citation: Sulaimon Adewale, Onoriode Collins Potokri. A qualitative study of sustainability of female teachers' digital literacy in the post-covid 19 era[J]. STEM Education, 2025, 5(4): 714-731. doi: 10.3934/steme.2025033

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Abstract

This study aimed to determine the sustainability of female teachers' digital literacy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period in Lagos State, Nigeria. This study adopted a phenomenology qualitative research method. A purposive sampling technique was utilized to select ten female participants from female public secondary school teachers in Lagos State. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using the QSR NVivo software, version 1.7.1. The study found, among other things, that all the benefits achieved by female teachers in digital literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic may be wasted if the challenges facing the sustainability of the skill are not addressed. In addition, the study found strategies that the educational stakeholders can employ, especially the government, to sustain digital literacy among female teachers during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. These findings imply that the education ministry should integrate digital literacy into the national teacher education curriculum to sustain the teachers' digital competence. School principals should advocate digital inclusion by setting up internal digital culture policies, information and communication (ICT) committees, and ensuring regular appraisal. The originality of this study can be found in the approach used by the researchers to seek strategies that educational stakeholders can employ to sustain digital literacy skills among female teachers.

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Author's biography Dr. Sulaimon Adewale is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Educational Foundations, University of South Africa. He specialises in educational leadership and management. His research interests include women in leadership and development, TVET and digital leadership and online learning. He is a member of NAEAP and CCEAM; Dr. Onoriode Collins Potokri is an associate professor at the Department of Educational Management, policy and Comparative Education, University of the Free State, South Africa. He specialises in educational leadership and management. His research interests include women in leadership and development

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