Globalising educational innovation through smart clothing: perceptions and utilisation among undergraduates at the university of Ilorin, Nigeria

This study examined undergraduates’ perceptions and utilisation of smart clothing technologies as a pathway for globalising educational innovation at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Anchored within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and supplemented by Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theory, a cross-sectional survey of 150 students, selected via multistage random sampling, employed a structured questionnaire titled Smart Clothing Questionnaire (SCQ, Cronbach's α = 0.84), to assess socio-demographic profiles, awareness, utilisation patterns, perceived challenges, acceptance factors, willingness to adopt, and overall perceptions of smart clothing and smartwatches. Descriptive statistics revealed high awareness ( x¯ ≈ 2.11–2.39) and active utilisation ( x¯ ≈ 2.53–2.81) of smart garments and accessories, with minimal perceived barriers ( x¯ ≈ 1.31–1.83). Price, functionality, fashion alignment, and seamless daily integration emerged as key acceptance drivers (M ≈ 3.58–3.87). Inferential analyses showed no gender differences in awareness ( p = .818), while significant positive correlations obtained between perception and willingness to adopt (r = .682, p < .001), and a significant negative correlation between perception and perceived challenges (r = −.305, p < .001). Ethnicity and academic level, but not age, sex, religion, or monthly allowance, were significantly associated with perceptions. While the findings indicate a broadly favourable environment for integrating wearable technology into Nigerian undergraduate education, the results should be interpreted cautiously given limitations including self-report bias, possible respondent interpretation of “smart clothing” to encompass general wearables, a predominantly female sample (84.7%), and the cross-sectional nature of the design. The study contributes regionally relevant insights and argues for the intentional integration of smart textile competencies into home economics and textile design curricula in Nigerian higher education.