Primary School Teachers Perceived Influence of Screen-Based Activities on Pre-School Children Literacy Skills in Ilorin South Local Government

ABSTRACT
This study investigated teachers’ perception of preschool children’s screen time and its influence on early literacy skills in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted to gather data without manipulating variables. The target population consisted of 1,994 primary school teachers, from which 200 were selected using simple random sampling. The study aimed to assess the level of preschoolers’ engagement in screen-based activities and to examine teachers’ perceptions of how screen time influences early literacy development, including letter recognition, vocabulary acquisition, and phonemic awareness. A validated questionnaire titled Teachers’ Perception of Screen-Based Activities was used for data collection. The reliability coefficients were 0.77 for screen time exposure and 0.64 for perceived influence on literacy skills. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, and mean) and inferential statistics (t-test and ANOVA) were used to analyse the data at a 0.05 significance level. Findings indicated that preschool children are increasingly exposed to screen media, and while teachers acknowledged some educational benefits such as vocabulary development, they also expressed concerns over reduced attention span and delayed speech. The study concluded that unregulated screen time may hinder literacy development. It recommended integrating structured digital literacy into the preschool curriculum and raising awareness among teachers and parents on guided screen use.