Teachers’ Level of Readiness in Digital Literacy in Development of Learners’ Skills in Machakos County Junior Schools, Kenya

This study assessed teachers’ level of readiness in digital literacy in development of learners’ skills in Machakos County Junior Schools, Kenya. The study was guided by the following research question: What is the level of readiness of teachers in digital literacy integration for development of learners’ skills in Junior schools in Machakos County? The study was anchored on Curriculum Implementation Theory The study employed convergent design of the mixed methods approach. Cross-sectional survey was used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data was collected through phenomenology design. The study targeted 86 schools, 715 public junior school teachers, 5 curriculum support Officers (CSOs) and the County’s Ministry of Education information and communication technology officer. Stratified sampling technique was used to sample 86 schools; simple random sampling to sample 144 teachers while census sampling was used to include all Curriculum Support Officers and purposive sampling for the County ICT officer in the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers while interview guide was used for the CSOs and county ICT officer. The research instruments were evaluated for face, content and construct validity and reliability by experts in the field of research for required adjustments. Cronbach Alpha co-efficient test was used to test instrument reliability of questionnaire. Qualitative instruments were tested by member checks, peer evaluation and triangulation methods. The quantitative data collected using descriptive statistics, such as percentages and frequencies with the assistance of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) using version 28. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis and findings were presented in narration and Direct Quotations. The research ethics were adhered in this study included a research permit; informed consent; confidentiality and anonymity of information given. The study found that level of teachers’ readiness is very important for the digital literacy integration, competent teachers are highly needed to adequately impact the required skills into the learners. The study recommended that regular teacher training programs; adequate inter-connectivity; and good policies should be provided by the government to encourage digital skills acquisition by the teachers. Keywords: Digital Literacy; Teacher Readiness; Digital Resources; Competency-Based Curriculum; Junior Schools; ICT integration