The experience and impact of digital literacy development of Nigerian graduates – a study of stakeholder perspectives (graduate, lecturer, PSRB and employer)

Digital literacy (DL) encompasses the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to critically, and reflectively use technology for different purposes. DL has emerged as a critical concept within the academic field due to the advancement in digital technology and affordances; educators are grappling with how to integrate technology into curriculum design and delivery. Crucially, technological advancement has profoundly changed the nature of work, making DL a key employability skill often required by employers, making students' DL development a significant role of a university education. However, no study has comprehensively investigated how DL is developed by graduates, their undergraduate experiences and expectations, and the employers’ DL expectations within the Nigerian context. The researcher combined purposive and snowballing sampling in this mixed methods research to recruit 93 graduates and 7 lecturers via questionnaire, and 11 graduates, 8 lecturers, 10 employers and 4 Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies’ (PSRB) officials via a semi-structured interview. The study analysed the perspectives on how graduates’ DL is developed and how graduates’ DL aligns with employers’ expectations. Additionally, the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) and 54 websites were analysed. This research found limited understanding of DL among stakeholders, that the BMAS is obsolete, the universities curricula are inadequate, university-employer collaboration is sporadic, PSRBs’ engagement and impact are limited. A gap between graduates’ DL, and employers’ DL expectations is identified, with limited access to critical digital infrastructures (CDIs)/digital training impacting its development. Following the findings, this research has concluded that there is a need to redesign the BMAS; enhance staff development, create a robust digital environment with good technology access, develop and apply DL policies. Additionally, there is a need for greater university, PSRBs and employer engagement with improved oversight. Finally, the researcher mapped these recommendations onto a conceptual framework for students’ DL development and contextualised to Nigerian university education.