DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING TEACHERS’ ICT COMPETENCIES IN SELECTED PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study developed an instrument for measuring teachers’ information and communication technology (ICT) competencies in selected public secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. The instrument was structured around seven dimensions: basic ICT literacy, pedagogical integration, digital content creation, ICT-supported assessment and feedback, communication and collaboration, ethics, safety and digital citizenship, and troubleshooting and problem solving. An instrument-development research design with a cross-sectional survey phase was adopted. The population frame comprised 6,893 teachers in 302 government-owned senior secondary schools in Rivers State, based on Rivers State Senior Secondary Schools Board data. Cochran’s sample-size procedure with finite-population correction produced a minimum of 364 teachers; a 20% allowance for non-response increased the target to 437. The 40-item Teachers’ ICT Competency Scale (TICTCS) emerged from item generation, expert review, content-validity analysis, pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and internal-consistency assessment. The scale-level content validity index was .94. The factor-analytic results supported seven dimensions, with KMO = .958 and a significant Bartlett’s test. The seven factors explained 56.55% of total variance, while standardized loadings ranged from .576 to .708. The second-order model showed acceptable fit (χ²/df = 1.96, CFI = .953, TLI = .946, RMSEA = .047, SRMR = .041). Domain reliability coefficients ranged from .789 to .852 and overall Cronbach’s alpha was .950. The resulting instrument provides a structured basis for identifying teachers’ ICT strengths, training needs, and professional-development priorities in Rivers State.