Digital Skills and Learning in Tanzania Secondary Schools: Students and Teachers’ Influence

This study investigated the use of digital skills in enhancing learning among teachers and students in Tanzania secondary schools. The study used a sequential exploratory design to collect data through a semi-structured interview and questionnaire techniques. 85 participants including school leaders, students and teachers informed the study. Quantitative data were subject to descriptive statistics and presented using graphs, percentages and frequency tables while thematic analysis informed qualitative data and were presented in excerpts. The study revealed that teachers' and students’ digital skills such as basic computer skills, internet skills, technical skills and collaborative skills influence teaching and learning process in secondary schools. Further, the study reveals that digital infrastructure, availability of internet, professional development, electricity, technical support, readiness, awareness, overcrowded classrooms and socio-economic conditions are factors central to enabling and/or impeding effective use of digital skills in secondary schools. Based on the findings, the study concludes that teachers and students possess and use basic digital skills for teaching and learning. However, the study calls for education stakeholders to continue to put in place enabling digital learning environments that strengthen the integration and use of technology for teaching and learning in secondary schools. As such, the study offers some theoretical and practical insights for all education stakeholders on effective and sustainable ways of integrating digital technologies in pedagogical arrangements and broader education endeavours.

developing learners' digital skills. Digital skills enable people to live and work well in an era of rapid technological change.
The importance of digital skills has been recognised, often as a new literacy alongside reading, writing and Mathematics (Nason, 2014). Having adequate digital skills provides a great opportunity for teachers and students to use digital technology (Jannette, 2009). However, the changing nature of students and the increasing presence of technology and digital resources pose challenges for schools striving to adapt and embrace digital learning and teaching environment. This as described by Clement (2017), demands for enhancing access and resources, teacher training, capacity building, infrastructure and delivery methods in order to harness the value of technology in education context. Several countries in the world have embarked on formulating strategies to cultivate digital skills to learners and the community.
In Europe, the European Training Foundations (ETF) contributes to the European Union (EU) and international dialogue on the effective integration of digital technologies in education and training, as well as the development of digital skills and competence standards that are increasingly important for the future (Piwiec, 2022). The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators, which is directed to all education levels, provides a general reference frame to support the development of educator-specific digital competences in Europe (Punie & Redecker, 2017). Students in secondary schools are regarded as 'digital natives,' capable of freely navigating the internet and possessing all necessary digital skills. Yet, studies show that young people, 95% of whom access the internet on a daily basis, do not possess the skills required for safe and effective use of digital technologies (Șerban et al., 2022). In terms of the link between digital skills, job market and job efficiency, there is growing evidence to support that lack of digital skills among graduates contributes to many having limited opportunities to be absorbed by the labour market. Besides that, several studies indicate that 75% of low-skill jobs, 85% of middle-skill jobs and 83% of high-skill jobs need digital skills (Bhasin, 2020).
In many African countries, the integration of technology and use of digital skills in learning are hindered by many factors.
For example, Sife (2013), Kira and Mahumbwe (2015) listed factors such as poor telecommunications infrastructure shortfalls, difficulties in accessing relevant digital materials, insufficient power supply and limited computer skills. Others include high costs of digital equipment such as computers, inadequate mastery of English language, lack of connectivity, competition, and low income among many other factors. Regardless of the shortcomings, African countries have taken significant steps towards the use of digital skills (African Union, 2020). For example, in Namibia, several internet providers have mushroomed allowing schools have access to internet connectivity, stimulating learners' interest and promoting the nurture their students' basic digital skills (Krumsvik, 2011). Basic digital skills have been integrated and found their way into school curricula for students and teacher training programmes in some parts of the world. Teachers who are confident in their personal use of technology are more capable of integrating technology and use digital skills in their teaching compared to those who are less competent (Law et al., 2008). Boholano (2017) concluded that when teachers have enough skills, the educational systems must have necessary prerequisite of ICT resources, hardware and software; and that curricula must be designed to promote a collaborative learner-centred environment to which students will relate and respond. Moreover, Astuti et al. (2021) conducted a study on the competency of digital technology and the maturity levels of teachers and students in vocational education in Indonesia. In this study, the results show that the maturity level of digital technology for teachers and students is sequential, starting from caring, literacy, capability, creativity, and critical use of digital technology. Various training and learning innovations relevant to digital technology mastery competencies must be improved significantly in contexts such as Tanzania.

Factors Relating to the Use of Digital Skills among Teachers
Having access to digital tools such as computers, laptops, telephones, printers, calculators and video cameras is not enough for effective use of digital skills. However, the use of such devices for pedagogical purposes depends on factors such as availability of infrastructure which support digital technologies, individual teachers' interests and attitude, school policy, knowledge and skills and access to internet. In some countries, schools with access to digital technologies have made it mandatory for teachers to make use of them in teaching purpose. Kihoza et al., (2016) outlined challenges associated with infrastructure shortfall, readiness to change and lack of competencies in applying ICTs in pedagogical arrangements.
Similarly, Mathayo (2016) revealed that unlimited access to ICT resources and facilities and lack of technical support, inadequate ICT infrastructure on ICT and lack of professional development were key barriers hindering teachers from using ICT to facilitate teaching in secondary schools. Factors determining the use of ICT in teaching in secondary schools were teachers' positive attitudes, teachers' competence in ICT use, accessibility of ICT facilities, professional development and availability of technical support. In the same vein, factors related to the use digital skills were exposed by Mtebe and Raphael (2018) in their study on 'key factors in learners' satisfaction with the e-learning system at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania'. The study found that system quality, instructor quality and service quality positively affect students' satisfaction in utilisation of digital technologies for learning purpose.
Theoretical Framing opportunities to make selections about learning. This conceptual framing views learning as a network phenomenon influenced by technology and socialization (Siemens, 2006). It also argues for technology to be central in group collaboration and discussion, allowing space for different viewpoints and perspectives regarding decision-making, problem-solving and making sense of information (Duke et al., 2013). Connectivism theory relies heavily on technology, so an important process is to create a connected classroom and introduce more opportunities for digital skills such as online courses, webinars, social networks and blogs (Anderson & Dron, 2011). This implies that, connectivism has the potential to stimulate individual and group learning through social media, online networks, blogs or information databases. Within connectivism, learning occurs when peers are connected and share opinions, viewpoints and ideas through a collaborative process. The theory has been built upon a major assumption that learning and knowledge rest in the diversity of opinions and that learning is a process of connecting and resides in non-human appliances. It posts that learning is more critical than knowing and nurturing and maintaining connections are needed for continued learning (Corbett & Spinello, 2020).
Today, people rely on technology to seek for answers and find information by simply asking their smartphones or type the question into search engines and digital platforms. It is notable that technology is changing how students learn and experience learning in and out of the classroom. Rather than learning from teachers and textbooks, digital tools serve as important sources of information for today's students. One of the ways teachers apply and implement connectivism is through the use of classroom social media. For instance, a class WhatsApp account can be used to share information, engage in discussion or announce learning tasks. This enables students' class engagement remotely and open up opportunities for discussions between and among students, contents, technologies and teachers (Jung, 2019& Thota, 2015. Connectivism theory is used in this study because it focuses on using digital skills in influencing learning among teachers and students, students and contents through the use of available digital technology. In addition, most of the digital technologies used in teaching and learning are within the connectivism frameworks as they connect people and open up possibilities for knowledge sharing among learners and teachers. In that case, possibilities for effective teaching and learning in digital age are realised based on connected digital skills endowed by practitioners. Therefore, teaching and learning in digital age are considered to occur by forming connections through technology. Such a tactic reduces teachers' workload as most of the activities are done by students themselves through digital technologies. Consequently, this paper investigates the use of digital skills in influencing teaching and learning among teachers and students in secondary schools in Tanzania. Specifically, the paper responds to the following research questions: (i) what types of digital skills This study involved an exploratory sequential design. The design focused on gathering and analysing qualitative data to inform the collection and analysis of quantitative data. The priority was given to the qualitative data, as the focus of this design was to provide some insights. The findings were merged at the interpretation stage of the study. The design helped to collect in-depth information by using various data collection techniques, including questionnaires and interviews in order to obtain rich and contextual data on digital skills and their influence on teachers. Lindi Municipal in Tanzania was selected as a research site because it has many schools integrating technology and using digital tools such as tablets, internet and smartphones for teaching and learning purposes (URT, 2020). Besides, at the end of every year, secondary schools in Lindi Municipality perform a digital skill performance review for the teachers that aim to understand teachers' digital skills' competency for on-job training in digital skills by Universal Communication Services Access fund (UCSAF) and Secondary School Quality Improvement Program (SEQUIP). Students' digital skills status is known to this group of teachers since they are teaching them and closely monitoring their academic performance. As such, teachers and students are expected to be using digital tools for preparing materials, assessment tasks, and engaging with students.
That is to say, the use of digital tools requires stakeholders having significant level of digital skills.

Participants and Sampling
The study used (n=85) respondents to collect data from five public secondary schools. Respondents included (n=45) students, (n=5) five ICT teachers, (n=) 25 classroom teachers, (n=5) five academic teachers and (n=5) five heads of schools. Academic teachers, ICT teachers and heads of schools were purposeful selected because it was expected that they possess relevant information regarding the availability of ICT tools and digital learning status at their schools.
Furthermore, purposive sampling was used to obtain five heads of school, five ICT teachers and five academic teachers since the researchers believed that these specific participants had relevant information based on their work and responsibilities. A simple random sampling was used to obtain 25 classroom teachers involved in the study to collect quantitative data.

Instruments
The study employed interviews and questionnaires to collect data. Interviews were possible for heads of schools, academic teachers and ICT teachers. Questionnaires were administered to classroom teachers and students. The validity and reliability of this study were ensured through the use of multiple data collection techniques, pre-testing of the instruments (piloting) and triangulation. Similarly, two research specialist in secondary education and digital literacy were consulted to evaluate and recommend the quality of the research instruments. The questionnaires for students were translated into Kiswahili since the majority of secondary school students are more conversant in Swahili than in English language though English Language is a medium of instruction. The study followed ethical standards in terms of confidentiality, no harm and anonymity of the participants. This involved the use of informed consent for participants to sign and indicate their voluntary participation in the study. In reporting, pseudonyms were used for schools and respondents.

Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data through frequency distribution while thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Qualitative (interview) data were transcribed verbatim and coded manually in order to allow the views and voices of participants to dictate the analysis. The interpretations and theorisation of the themes emerged from both sets of data were guided by the theoretical framework of the study. Selection of quotes that are poignant and/or most representative of the research findings were used to present data from interview.

Types of Digital Skills Influencing Learning Possessed by Teachers and Students
To examine the types of digital skills influencing learning possessed by teachers and students, several structured one-toone interviews were conducted among heads of secondary schools, academics teachers and ICT teachers. Findings from interviews are presented in Tables (i.e., Table 1, 2 & 3) respectively using representative quotes whereby subthemes and themes possibly signifying types of digital skills possessed by teachers were identified and generated for further discussion. Moreover, data from quantitative are statistically presented in frequencies and percentages.
The heads of schools were asked about the type of digital skills influencing learning possessed by teachers in secondary schools. Their responses are shown below in an interview excerpt in Table 1.  Results presented in Table (1,2 and 3) reveal several types of digital skills possessed by teachers in studied secondary schools including basic computer skills, internet skills, information retrieval, technical skills and collaborative skills.
Additionally, by the use of questionnaire, students were asked to identify types of digital skills influencing learning possessed by their subject teachers and themselves. Students' responses are illustrated in Figure 1.

Digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning in secondary schools
To identify digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning in secondary schools, we collected data through interviews and questionnaires from head of schools, academic teachers, ICT teachers, subject teachers, and students.
First, subject teachers and students were surveyed via self-made questionnaires. Second, school leaders, academic teachers and ICT teachers were interviewed. There responses are presented step-by-step. Heads of schools were asked to identify digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning in their schools. Table 4 summarises their responses.  Table 4 reveals that several digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning in studied secondary schools as stipulated by head of schools such as audio-visual tools and video sharing applications. Moreover, ICT subject teachers were asked to identify digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning that were available at their schools.
There responses are summarised in the interview extracts in Table 5. were asked to identify digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning in their respective secondary schools. Table 6 presents some of their responses in interview extract.    According to the findings depicted in Figure 3, the most used digital technological tools alleged to enhance teaching and learning among studied subject teachers were audio-visual tools 19 (76%), learning management system 13(52%), file- sharing services 10(40%), digital collaborative tools 9(36%) and video-sharing tools, which had 7(28%) of the respondents. In principle, students were asked about different digital technological tools used to enhance teaching and learning in their secondary schools. Their responses are shown in Figure 4.

Factors Related to the Use of Digital Skills in Secondary Schools
The effective integration and utilisation of technological tools for teaching and learning depend on a number of factors.
These factors can act as enablers or inhibitors in the process of digitalising teaching and learning. As such, teachers were asked to identify the factors related to the effective and sustainable use of digital skills in teaching and learning in secondary schools. A number of factors were identified, as captured in Figure 4.
Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Article, August 28, 2023 Qeios ID: QJU9PS · https://doi.org/10.32388/QJU9PS 16/22 The above figure illustrates that digital infrastructure 16(64%) is the most important factor related to the use of digital skills in secondary schools followed by internet service and accessibility 14(56%). Also, teachers' capacity building13(52%) and technical support 12 (48%) were identified as other critical factors for the use of digital skills in secondary schools. The least selected factor was system quality, which had 11 (44%) of the respondents. Similarly, students were asked to identify factors related to their use of digital skills in learning. Their responses are captured in figure 5. internet services 24(53%) was a least factor.

Types of Digital Skills Influencing Learning Possessed by Teachers and Students
This study examined several types of digital skills influencing learning possessed by teachers and students in secondary schools. The findings show that the digital skills possessed by teachers and students are basic computer skills (i.e., operating systems), digital content creation, digital assessments (i.e., online assessment tools (e.g., Google Forms, Quizizz), presentation skills, browsing skills, digital communication (i.e., using email clients or web-based email services to send, receive and manage emails) internet skills (i.e., using search engines, evaluate the credibility of sources), technical skills (i.e., cybersecurity, online safety practices) and online collaboration skills (i.e., using collaborative platforms like Google Drive, Microsoft Teams).
Basic computer skills (i.e., operating systems, using word processing software, using presentation software [e.eg. Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides], are essential for both teachers and students to effectively navigate and utilize technology in educational arenas. The finding signifies what has been revealed by Kumi-Yeboah et al. (2020) who found that digital technology users should incorporate digital technology skills, specifically sharing skills, to facilitate academic engagement and achievements of students from diverse backgrounds in online learning. This means that through sharing skills each student will have a chance to get the required documents regardless of the different devices available. Further, the finding correlates with that of Alabdulaziz (2021) who uncovered that 98% of students get reliable teaching and learning materials during COVID-19 as they possess internet skills.
Moreso, teachers use these skills to accomplish several educational tasks including preparation of teaching materials, examinations and teaching and learning related activities. Most of these skills are essential for teachers and students to be able exploiting the advantages of digital technologies for teaching and learning. In tandem, online collaborative skills were found among od core digital skills possessed by teachers and students. As such, online collaboration skills involve sharing skills of documents and other teaching and learning materials via digital devices. Some of these digital devices are equipped with infrared, Bluetooth and related application that facilitate the sharing of teaching and learning materials and easy teaching and learning process. The findings concur with several studies like Boholano (2017)

Digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning
The current study examined digital technological tools enhancing teaching and learning process in secondary schools.
From the findings, several digital tools including audio-visual tools, file management tools, videos sharing tools, digital libraries, digital collaborative tools were reported. The findings also reveal that the most popular video sharing tools in form of apps were Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. These digital technological tools play significant role in assisting and supporting teaching subject across curriculum (Mwakapina et al., 2016). Moreover, it was found that some of learning management systems commonly visited by students and teachers were Khan Academy, SOMA, Google Classroom and Shuledirect. Therefore, students could benefit from a variety of innovative learning opportunities, including access to course content and interaction with peers and professionals through these digital tools. This finding agrees with that of Manca and Ranieri (2013) Teachers and students create WhatsApp groups in which they share subject contents, videos and questions among them.
Video sharing tools bridge the gap of place between teachers and students in the learning process as connectivity theory suggests.

Factors relating to the use of digital skills in secondary schools
The study intended to examine the factors relating to the use of digital skills. Based on the findings, the study found that among the factors were the availability of digital infrastructures, awareness, system quality, technical support, income, electricity professional development, internet network and overcrowded classroom. Using digital skills to influence learning among teachers and students in secondary schools needs enough digital infrastructures to implement digital skills successfully (Coles et al., 2020). The number of digital infrastructures should, at least, meet the number of students because they are the main agents of the curriculum. These devices should be available at school and even at home. The internet is a universal network of computers linked together over a large distance. Teachers and students use the internet to search for relevant content for learning. Also, it is used to access emails to send messages and documents from one internet user to another. Furthermore, teachers and students can access social networks like WhatsApp and Facebook to write short messages and share videos through the internet. The quality of the internet influences teachers and students in learning.
This finding concurs with that of Manyengo (2021) who found that lack of access to digital learning facilities and technology in schools and at home negatively affects the use of digital skills in secondary schools. Also, Marshall and Ruohonen (2013) reported that internet connectivity is likely to have an intense effect on digital skills. These findings agree with Sailer and Homner (2020) who found that teachers' skills possibly predispose digital utilisation in schools during teaching and learning activities. This implies that professional development will update knowledge and familiarity with digital technologies. Professional development will use digital skills to the required extent and frequency, which will positively affect the teaching and learning process.

Conclusion
Based on the findings, the study concludes that teachers and students possess several digital skills including basic computer skills that are used to influence their teaching and learning in secondary schools. Also, the study concludes that the use of technology-enhanced learning tools requires prior knowledge of digital skills to be possessed by teachers and students. Therefore, if ICT subject is taught effectively in secondary schools may influence the use of technologyenhanced learning tools because teachers and students will have enough digital skills. From the findings, the following policy implications were drawn. First, students should be emphasised using digital skills through digital devices (especially tablets, iPad, Kindle and smartphones) possessed by parents, guardians and relatives while at home. Second, collaborative learning among students should be emphasised in schools with few digital infrastructures. The government should facilitate the availability of digital infrastructures in secondary schools for teachers and students to utilise possessed digital skills. Educational stakeholders should assist the government in providing digital infrastructures to schools to enhance access. Lastly, policymakers should amend the education circular that prohibits students from the use of smartphones when they are in school environments. This will improve digital skills in secondary schools because smartphones are cheaper than other digital infrastructures like laptops, tablets and desktop computers.