Conceptualizing Media Education and Digital Radio for Civic Commitment Among Secondary School Students in Freeown, Sierra Leone

This study examined the effectiveness of digital radio media education in enhancing civic commitment among secondary school students in Freetown, Sierra Leone. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design was adopted. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, 240 senior secondary school students (SSS 1–3) were selected from four public secondary schools and equally assigned to an experimental group (n = 120) and a control group (n = 120). The experimental group participated in an eight-week digital radio podcast intervention on civic issues, delivered via mobile phones alongside the regular curriculum, while the control group received the regular curriculum only. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire measuring civic knowledge, civic attitudes, and behavioural intentions. The instrument demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.87). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests in SPSS (version 26). Findings revealed that baseline civic knowledge among participants was moderate, with cautiously positive attitudes and behavioural intentions. Post-test results showed statistically significant improvements in the experimental group compared to the control group across all outcome measures. Civic knowledge scores were significantly higher among students exposed to the digital radio intervention (M = 78%) than those in the control group (M = 55%), <i>p</i> <.001. Similarly, significant differences were observed in civic attitudes (M = 4.2 vs. 3.5) and behavioural intentions toward civic participation (M = 4.4 vs. 3.6), both at <i>p</i> <.001. The study concludes that digital radio media education effectively enhances civic knowledge, attitudes, and participation intentions among secondary school students, especially in resource-limited contexts. It highlights the value of mobile, culturally relevant audio content for promoting youth civic engagement and recommends integrating digital radio into civic education, creating after-school media clubs, strengthening school–NGO–media partnerships, and conducting long-term studies to assess sustained civic participation.