Ethical Cyber Behaviour among Undergraduate Students in Selected African Universities. An Overview

This study examined the ethical behaviour of undergraduate students in relation to cyber technology at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU), South Africa, and the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria. We adopted the pragmatic research paradigm that combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods through the survey method. The sample for the study was drawn from undergraduate students in two purposively selected universities in South Africa and Nigeria. Overall, 450 undergraduate students were invited to participate in the survey; 380 respondents completed and returned the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 84.4%. 14 of the expected 16 members of staff of both Information & Communication Technology Resource Centre ICTREC and Information Technology Section ITS were interviewed, resulting in a response rate of 88%. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used for data analysis. Most of the respondents from the sampled universities reported that they were aware of what constitutes unethical cyber behaviour. Further, the participants (98; 52.1%) revealed that they had never received ethical orientation/training in the university on cyber behaviour, cyber space, or cyber technology. Challenges facing the students is reported. The study recommends that universities should sustain orientation/training programmes on cyber ethics and cyber security awareness at the start of each academic year, especially for newly enrolled students so that they can act responsibly when using the university’s cyberspace. The results of this study may spark further discussions and research on cyber technology access and use in contemporary society.