Nigerian Social Studies Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes and Readiness for Digital Technologies in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This study investigated pre-service teachers’ attitudes and readiness to use digital technologies in Social Studies classroom. A total of three hundred (300) Social Studies students from six colleges of education in Southwest, Nigeria were administered with a questionnaire. Data collected were analysis with descriptive statistic- frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The quantitative data were complimented with 12 focus group discussions. The study revealed that while majority of pre-service Social Studies teachers reported limited access to digital technology in the colleges, they still display a relatively high access through personal efforts such as purchase and use of modems, android phones etc. The study also revealed that the pre-service Social Studies teachers had positive attitude toward digital technology and high level of readiness to integrate it into the teaching. It was concluded that digital technology has become an unavoidable intervention for effective teaching and preparation of pre-service teachers for effective and more productive professional performance.

Keywords: Digital technology, Attitude, Readiness, Pre-service teachers, Social Studies.