Effectiveness of Culturally Responsive Digital Instruction on the Learning Engagement of Secondary School Students in Ondo State, South West Nigeria

This study investigates the effectiveness of culturally responsive digital instruction on the learning engagement of senior secondary school students in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Culturally responsive pedagogy integrates students' cultural backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences into instructional content, and its application to digital instruction in Nigerian contexts has not been systematically studied. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 140 Senior Secondary School Two students from two schools in Akure South Local Government Area. The experimental group received digital history and civic education lessons infused with Yoruba cultural narratives, local case studies, and vernacular language elements, while the control group received standard digital lessons. Learning engagement was assessed using a validated multi-dimensional engagement scale measuring behavioural, emotional, and cognitive dimensions across eight weeks. Analysis of covariance reveals significantly higher total engagement scores for the experimental group, with the strongest effect observed in emotional engagement. Qualitative reflections from students in the experimental group cite cultural recognition as a key motivational factor. The study recommends that educational technology designers and curriculum developers in Ondo State incorporate cultural responsiveness as a systematic criterion in digital content development. Keywords: culturally responsive instruction, digital learning, learning engagement, secondary school, Ondo State