Speaker
Description
Ubawuike, A. B.
Federal University of Education, Kontagora
drbuakano@yahoo.com
Track: Inclusion, Equity and Digital Access
By
Prof. Akano Benedit Ubawuike
Department of Physics, Federal University of Education, Kontagora, Niger State
ABSTRACT
The provision of digital devices in Nigerian classrooms has not translated into meaningful learning gains in physics, largely because policy and institutional focus remain only on hardware provision rather than the human and pedagogical infrastructures required for their effective usage. This paper argues that equitable physics education in Nigeria cannot be achieved through device distribution alone but demands a simultaneous transformation of digital pedagogy, teacher training, and learning environments. The author examines the persistent digital divide not merely as a matter of access, but as a function of unprepared teachers, culturally irrelevant content, and physical learning spaces not well suited for inquiry-based teaching and learning. The paper draws on the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework and on lessons from low-resource contexts similar to Nigeria, including successful interventions in Ghana and rural India. It identifies three critical gaps. First, teacher education programmes that treat digital tools as mere add-ons rather than as essential scaffolds for learning, resulting in graduates who can operate devices but cannot design inquiry-driven physics lessons. Second, professional development that focuses on device manipulation rather than on designing effective instruction, for example, training teachers to boot a computer but not to diagnose student misconceptions using a simulation. The consequence is that even where devices are present, they are deployed for rote tasks like displaying notes or playing videos, never for interactive conceptual engagement. Third, laboratory environments that lack reliable power, internet connectivity, and basic maintenance protocols, will make functional devices unusable for extended periods. The author contends that without addressing these foundational problems, device proliferation will continue to reproduce, rather than remedy, existing inequities between urban and rural, private and public, and male and female learners. The paper concludes with recommendations for a comprehensive approach that integrates digital teaching suited to local contexts, sustained teacher learning communities, and the redesign of physics laboratories to support collaborative and student-centred learning. Only such a holistic strategy can transform digital devices from status symbols into genuine instruments for equitable access and conceptual mastery in Nigerian physics education.
Keywords: Digital Pedagogy, Physics Education, Teacher Training, Learning Environments, Educational Equity, Nigeria