Abstract

There has been a heated discussion relating to the use of ICT in senior high schools. It is often argued that young people misuse ICT tools, particularly in their learning. This study examines the perceptions of senior high school students of ethical values, responsible behaviour and academic integrity in their use of ICT tools. Grounded on the Mike Ribble’s (2007) Digital Citizenship Framework, the study employed a mixed methods sequential explanatory research design, using a structured questionnaire to collect data from 390 students and interview data from 9 students. The stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting respondents to answer the questionnaire for the survey and a purposive sampling method was used to select participants for the interview. Analysis using mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-tests and thematic analysis was done. The findings reveal that students generally exhibit positive perceptions of ethical ICT use, particularly in areas such as accurate digital content creation, respectful online behaviour, and responsible digital communication. However, gaps were identified in their understanding of personal privacy and the implications of digital footprints. The findings indicated no statistically significant differences in perceptions between male and female students, with both groups demonstrating similar levels of awareness regarding ethical ICT practices. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing ICT ethics education, with a particular emphasis on privacy awareness and digital footprint management. The study recommends that teachers in Senior High Schools implement educational programmes that specifically address ethical ICT use. Additionally, teachers and policymakers should leverage the equitable baseline understanding of ethical ICT use among male and female students to implement universal ICT ethics programmes. These programmes should focus on fostering peer-to-peer mentoring and inclusive discussions that reinforce ethical digital practices without the need for gender-specific adaptations.

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