Assessment of Digital Technology Affordances and Epistemological Access in Higher Educational Institutions of Learning in Nigeria: a Systematic Literature Review

This paper was aimed at assessing the digital technology affordances and epistemological access in higher educational institutions in Nigeria as a system literature review. The authors used a concept‑centric systematic literature review approach to conduct their study. Following the development of a research protocol, the authors searched the information systems database and other relevant and pertinent databases to select relevant articles for review. A thematic coding approach consists of six steps: (1) familiarizing with the data; (2) generating initial codes; (3) creation of themes; (4) reviewing themes; (5) defining and labeling themes; and (6) producing the report. The systematic literature review revealed several themes (for example, educational technological affordances, learning context, and dialogic activities) that are critical to digital technological affordances and epistemological access. Thus, from this review, the authors developed a framework that harmonizes various concepts that characterize epistemological access in higher educational institutions. The synthesized theoretical framework offers an integrated perspective on how structural and cultural systems of students and digital technology can facilitate the assessment of digital technologies and epistemological access in higher educational institutions in Nigeria. Moreover, it addresses gaps such as the influence of e-learning management systems on faculties during dialogic interaction, where a framework was developed. The framework not only provides new research avenues in the information systems domain but also serves as inspiration for future empirical testing in higher educational institutions globally. It is therefore recommended that, universities in Nigeria should integrate digital learning platform, enhance usability through user-centric design, maximize affordances of digital technologies, implement transformative educational strategies, and address structural barriers.

Keyword: Epistemological access, affordances, digital technologies, higher educational institutions