Speaker
Description
Danhalidu, M. M.
Zamfara State College of Education Maru
maryamgus@gmail.com
Track: Inclusion, Equity and Digital Access
This study investigated gender disparities in digital technology access among Early Childhood Care, Development, and Education (ECCDE) caregivers in Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria. Despite constituting over 80% of the ECCDE workforce, female caregivers remain disproportionately excluded from digital technology access and the professional development opportunities it enables. The study was guided by three objectives: to determine the level of digital technology access among male and female ECCDE caregivers in Gusau Educational Zone; to examine gender-based differences in digital literacy competencies; and to identify institutional and socio-cultural barriers constraining female caregivers' access to digital technologies. Correspondingly, three research questions were raised and addressed. A descriptive survey research design of the correlational type was adopted. The population comprised all ECCDE caregivers in Zamfara State, while the study was delimited to Gusau Educational Zone encompassing Gusau, Bungudu, Maru, and Tsafe Local Government Areas. A sample of 120 caregivers was drawn from 60 ECCDE schools within the zone, with two caregivers purposively selected per school. The instrument for data collection was the 20-item Gender-based Digital Technology Access among ECCDE Caregivers Questionnaire (GDTAECCDEQ), validated through expert review and pilot testing. Findings revealed a statistically significant gender gap in digital technology access (t = 7.84, p < 0.05), with female caregivers scoring markedly lower across all access and digital literacy indicators. Economic constraints, spousal restriction, and the absence of institutional ICT training emerged as the most prominent barriers. The study recommends that Zamfara State Government urgently formulate a gender-responsive digital inclusion policy for the ECCDE sub-sector, that ZSUBEB and UNICEF jointly provision digital devices to government centres across Gusau Educational Zone, and that ECCDE administrators integrate gender-sensitive digital literacy training into all caregiver professional development programmes