21st century Literacy Skills Need of English Language Teachers in Jega, Kebbi State, Nigeria

The study investigated the 21st-century literacy skills need of English language teachers in secondary schools in Jega Education Zone, Kebbi State, Nigeria. The main objective of the study is to assess the 21st-century literacy skills need of English language teachers in secondary schools in Jega Education Zone, Kebbi State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was employed in the study. The target population was 349 respondents comprising of 152 schools’ administrators and 197 English language teachers from 38 secondary schools of Jega Education Zone. A sample of 182 respondents was purposively drawn and used for data collection. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-developed structured questionnaire, titled, '21st Century Literacy Skills Questionnaire (21st CLSQ).' The instrument was validated by four experts, and its reliability was established using test-retest, with a Cronbach alpha value of r = 0.82. The data were collected with the help of four trained research assistants and analysed using weighted mean and the Skills Need Index (SNI). The study found that there were significant gaps between the 21st century information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy skills required by English language teachers and those they currently possessed. These gaps indicated the need for capacity-building initiatives to these teachers. The study concluded that addressing these gaps is crucial for enhancing English language teaching effectiveness and student achievement in 21st-century education. It recommended that the government should provide accessible resources and training programs to improve teachers' practical skills and integration of modern tools into English language teaching practices in secondary schools of Jega education zone.