Digital Technology Use among Preschool Children in Ondo State: Types and Extent

This study assessed digital technology use among preschool children in Ondo state: types and extent, with a focus on parental roles and mediation. The study was carried out in Ondo state and adopted a descriptive survey design with the sample of 316 parents (urban = 176; rural = 140) from 27 nursery schools across nine Local Government Areas. The study deployed multi-stage sampling technique to ensure proper representation. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using means, standard deviations, and t-tests at 0.05 significance level. The study found that majority of the parents agreed that their children used various forms of digital technology, as indicated by a grand mean of 2.77. Technologies frequently reported included educational board games with digital features, smartwatches, computers/laptops, and online educational platforms. However, lower agreement was observed regarding the use of language learning apps, coding apps, math apps, and interactive whiteboards. The results further showed significant differences in usage patterns between urban and rural parents, with urban children exhibiting higher exposure to digital learning tools. These findings suggest a broad but uneven integration of digital technology in Early Childhood Education as influenced by school location and access. The implications point to the need for targeted digital literacy programs for parents, especially in rural areas and among those with lower educational qualifications. Limitations include reliance on self-reported data and restriction to one state, which may affect generalizability. Further research is suggested to explore qualitative dimensions of parental mediation and gender-based roles in digital guidance across Nigerian contexts.