ODEBOWALE Tina Ireti

Educational Foundations and Counselling Psychology

At the Educational Foundations And Counselling Psychology department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: Raising Digital Natives, Rooted In Tradition: Family, Technology, And Indigenous Knowledge In 21st-Century Nigeria

Description:

In an era of rapid digitalisation, families in Nigeria and across the Global South increasingly navigate a dual imperative: equipping children with digital competencies for global participation while sustaining indigenous knowledge systems that underpin cultural identity, ethical values, and ecological resilience. Yet, the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into everyday life often occurs without critical reflection on how it reshapes intergenerational learning and parenting practices. This study interrogates the tensions and synergies between ICT adoption, indigenous epistemologies, and familial socialisation in Lagos, Nigeria—a context marked by both technological enthusiasm and deep-rooted cultural traditions.

The research aims to (1) examine how parents mediate children’s ICT use in relation to indigenous knowledge transmission; (2) identify parenting strategies that either reinforce or erode indigenous values in digital environments; and (3) explore children’s perceptions of the interplay between digital culture and ancestral knowledge within the home.

Using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, the study will conduct surveys with 200 parent–child dyads across diverse Lagos communities, followed by in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 30 purposively selected families. Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics will be employed, grounded in an Afrocentric epistemological framework that centres indigenous perspectives.

It is anticipated that ICT use will correlate with diminished intergenerational dialogue on indigenous practices, yet some families will demonstrate adaptive strategies—such as digital storytelling of oral histories or co-viewing culturally affirming content—that bridge tradition and technology.

This study will advance decolonial scholarship in digital sociology and family studies by theorising “techno-cultural parenting” in African contexts. Practically, it will inform culturally grounded digital literacy programmes, policy guidelines for ethical ICT integration in homes, and community initiatives that empower families to become custodians not casualties of indigenous knowledge in the digital age.

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION)	LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO	2020

ODEBOWALE Ireti is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Educational Foundations and Counselling Psychology

ODEBOWALE has a Ph.D in EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION from LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO