INFLUENCE OF PRINCIPALS’ AWARENESS OF DIGITAL LITERACY ETHICS ON ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated influence of principals’ awareness of digital literacy ethics on administrative effectiveness of secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Two research objectives with corresponding research questions and null hypotheses guided the study. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The sample for the study consisted 299 principals, selected through census sampling. A researcher-developed questionnaire titled ‘Digital Literacy Ethics and Administrative Effectiveness Questionnaire (DLEAEQ), was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar and tested for reliability using split-half method and a coefficient of 0.81 was realised. The data collected was analyzed using frequency counts, mean scores, and standard deviation for research questions, while Chi-square goodness of fit was used for testing all the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that principals’ awareness of cybersecurity and data privacy had influence on administrative effectiveness of secondary schools in Cross River State. The study concluded that principals’ awareness of digital literacy ethics significantly influences administrative effectiveness of secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, among others, that the principals should increase their capacity in managing cybersecurity in their places of work in order to contribute to administrative effectiveness for sustainable national development.