Digital Teachers as In-locus Parentis of Pupils' Academic Performance during COVID-19 Lockdown at Sunshine Group of Schools, Ibadan, Oyo State

Abstract

Covid-19 unveils the necessity of digital teachers' in-locus parentis at Sunshine Group of Schools 
towards improving pupils' academic performance. This study aim to investigate the influence of 
digital teachers as in-locus parentis of pupils' academic performance during the COVID-19 
lockdown at Sunshine Group of schools, Ibadan, Oyo State. A descriptive research design was used 
to collect data and elicit information from the respondents. A questionnaire titled Digital Teachers' 
(DT) questionnaire was created, and both face-to-face and content tests were carried out by a 
specialist in the field of education to assess the validity of the instrument. It was found that 40.9% 
of teachers at the Sunshine group of schools have upgraded their digital knowledge. WhatsApp 
application software is the most used by teachers during the lockdown with a percentage of 77.3%, 
followed by the use of Zoom application software with a percentage of 54.5%, and the least used 
application software has ties with Prezi, Kahoot, and Bloomwriter of 0.0%. This implies that there 
is a relationship between digital teachers and pupils' educational performance. It was recommended 
that the teaching staff at the Sunshine Group of schools should be digitally upgraded and equipped.