Digital Citizenship Education and Democratic Resilience in Benue State, Nigeria
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between Digital Citizenship Education and democratic resilience among citizens in Benue State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and 400 respondents were sampled from students, teachers, civil servants/professionals, traders and other digital users. Data were collected using the Digital Citizenship Education and Democratic Resilience in Benue State Questionnaire (DCEDRBSQ), with 385 valid responses analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression in SPSS version 27 at the 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed that DCE significantly predicted democratic resilience (β = .615, R2 = .468, p < .001); digital civic engagement significantly predicted democratic participation (β = .574, R2 = .412, p < .001); digital literacy skills significantly predicted resistance to misinformation (β = .598, R2 = .439, p < .001); digital citizenship engagement significantly predicted institutional trust (β = .522, R2 = .356, p < .001); and ethical digital behaviour significantly predicted democratic tolerance (β = .571, R2 = .401, p < .001). All five null hypotheses were therefore rejected. The study concluded that digital citizenship was significantly associated with key dimensions of democratic resilience, although institutional effectiveness, insecurity, socioeconomic conditions, political polarization and digital inequality also influenced democratic outcomes. It recommended strengthening digital citizenship education, digital literacy, responsible online participation, institutional transparency and equitable access to digital resources in Benue State.
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