Examination of Middle School Students' Digital Literacy Levels

Year 2024, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 86 - 108

Özgür Utkucan Aydoğdu , Melike Faiz

https://doi.org/10.47157/jietp.1482171

Abstract

The development of digital literacy equips students with the skills to effectively utilize technology and helps them become informed and responsible individuals in the digital world. Effective instruction in digital literacy empowers students with the necessary skills to navigate and utilize technology proficiently, thereby fostering their ability to engage critically and responsibly in the digital environment. The inaugural objective of this research is to assess the proficiency in digital literacy among middle school students. During epidemics and crises, when education is delivered digitally, it is important to assess students' levels of digital literacy. Within this framework, an effort has been undertaken to ascertain whether variables such as gender, the quantity of siblings, maternal education, and the frequency of internet connectivity exert any influence on the digital literacy aptitude of middle school students. The study adopts a quantitative research design, employing a descriptive survey model for data collection. The study population, comprising 268 middle school students in Kastamonu, was determined through an appropriate sampling technique. Subsequently, the gathered data underwent analysis via a quantitative data analysis program, and the results were subjected to interpretation. The findings reveal that the digital literacy levels of middle school students surpass the average across all dimensions. Moreover, there is a negative correlation between the number of siblings and digital literacy levels, indicating a decrease as the sibling count increases.

Keywords

Social studies, digital literacy, middle school students.

References

• Acar, Ç. (2015). Parent opinions about the their own digital literacy and their primary, secondary and high school children [Unpublished master’s thesis], Sakarya University.
• Akbaş-Coşar, H. & Gedik, H. (2021). Examination the relationship between teacher candidates' social media addiction and academic performance. Bayterek Journal of International Academic Research, 4(1), 32-65. https://doi.org/10.48174/buaad.932899
• Arslan, S. (2019). Investigation of digital literacy levels of teachers working in primary and secondary schools in terms of various variables [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Sakarya University.
• Arslan, A. (2020). Determination of the digital addiction levels of students university according to various variables. International e-Journal of Educational Studies, 4(7), 27-41. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.600483
• Arslan, A., Kırık, A. M., Karaman, M. & Çetinkaya, A. (2015). Digital addiction in high school and university students. International Peer-Reviewed Journal Of Communication And Humanities Research, 8(8), 34-58.
• Aşıcı, M. (2009). Literacy as a personal and social value. Journals of Value Education, 7(17), 9-26. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ded/issue/29183/312492
• Bağçecik, M. Ç. (2021). The effect of high school students' self-efficacy perceptions towards online technologies and digital literacy levels on academic achievement during the pandemic process [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Gazi University.
• Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2008). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı. Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
• Büyüköztürk, Ş., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., Demirel, F. & Çakmak, E. K. (2017). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri. Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
• Bozyel, M. (2019). Investigation of teacher candidates' digital literacy course experiences in terms of daily life [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Atatürk University.
• Chiao, C. & Chiu, C. H. (2018). The mediating effect of ICT usage on the relationship between students’ socioeconomic status and achievement. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27(2), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0370-9
• Çam, E. (2012). Educational and general use of facebook and facebook addiction of teacher candidates(SAU College of Education sample). [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Sakarya University.
• Çetin, O. (2016). Examining the digital literacy levels of undergraduate science education and pedagogical formation programme preservice teachers. Erzincan University Journal of Education Faculty, 18(2), 658-685. https://doi.org/10.17556/jef.01175
• Çokluk, O. S., Şekercioğlu, G. & Büyüköztürk, S. (2012). Sosyal bilimler için çok değişkenli istatistik: Spss ve lisrel uygulamaları, Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
• Dinlemez, Ş. (2021). Determining the relationship between digital literacy levels and digital citizenship levels of Turkish pre-service teacher [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Onsekiz Mart University.
• Deloitte (2018). Teknoloji Sektöründe Kadın. Retrieved From Https://Www2.Deloitte.Com/Tr/Tr/Pages/Technology-Media-And -Telecommunications/Articles/Teknoloji-Sektorunde-Kadin.Html
• Duran, E. & Özen, N. (2018). Digital literacy in Turkish lessons. Türkiye Education Journal, 3(2), 31- 46. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/604621
• Faiz, M. (2016). Political literacy levels of pre-service teachers of social studies [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Gazi University.
• Güven, İ. (2015). Türk eğitim tarihi. Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
• Hatlevik, O. E., Throndsen, I., Loi, M. & Gudmundsdottir, G. B. (2018). Students’ ICT self-efficacy and computer and information literacy: Determinants and relationships. Computers & Education, 118, 107-119. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.11.011
• Kara, S. (2021). Examination of the relationship between digital literacy levels of teacher candidates and information search and interpretation strategies in the web environment [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Necmettin Erbakan University.
• Karasar, N. (2014). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi. Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
• Karasar, N. (2018). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi. Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
• Kellner, D. (2010), New Technologies/new literacies: Reconstructing education fort the new millennium. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 11, 67-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/713698975
• Kilci, Z. (2019). Social studies teachers' digital citizenship opinions and applications [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Anadolu University.
• Kozan, M. (2018). Examination of department of computer education and instructional technology teacher candidates' digital literacy levels and cyberbullying sensitivities [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Fırat University.
• List, A. (2019). Defining digital literacy development: An examination of pre- service teachers’ beliefs. Computers and Education, 138, 146-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.03.009
• Maden, S., Maden, A. & Banaz, E. (2018). The evaluation of 5th grade Turkish course books within the context of digital literacy. The Journal of International Social Research, 11(55), 685-698. http://dx.doi.org/10.17719/jisr.20185537239
• Maxwell, C. E. & Maxwell, E. M. (2014). Gender differences in digital literacy among undergraduate students of faculty of education, Kogi state university: Implications for e-resources and library use. Advances In Social Sciences Research Journal, 1(7), 96-108. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.17.492
• Ministry of National Education (2005). Sosyal bilgiler dersi öğretim programı. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı.
• Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy?. Computers & Education, 59(3), 1065-1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016
• Oğuz Hacat, S. & Demir, F.B., (2019), Analysis of postgraduate theses on literacy in the field of education. Journal of Anatolian Cultural Research (JANCR), 3(2), 116-145. https://ankad.org/index.php/ankad/article/view/54/90
• Quaicoe, J. S. & Pata, K. (2020). Teachers’ digital literacy and digital activity as digital divide components among basic schools in Ghan. Education And Information Technologies, 25(5)4077–4095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10158-8
• Öçal, F. N. (2017). Perceptions of digital literacy competence related to primary school teacher and parents themselves with their children [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Gazi University.
• Özerbaş, M. A. & Kuralbayeva, A. (2018). A review of digital literacy levels of future primary-school and secondary-school teachers in Turkey and Kazakhstan. Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Journal of Education, 5(1), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.21666/muefd.314761
• Özoğlu, C. (2019). Analysis of the relationship between the lifelong learning tendencies and digital literacy of teacher candidates (Anadolu University Education Faculty sample) [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Anadolu University.
• Pala, Ş. M. (2019). Examining the academic success and skills of 5th grade students in the theme of science, technology and society of the social studies course [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Binali Yıldırım University.
• Pala, Ş. M. & Başıbüyük, A. (2020). A study of developing digital literacy scale for 10-12 age group students. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Research, 14(33), 542-565. https://doi.org/10.29329/mjer.2020.272.25
• Ritzhaupt, A. D., Liu, F., Dawson, K. & Barron, A. E. (2013). Differences in student information and communication technology literacy based on socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender: Evidence of a digital divide in Florida schools. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 45(4), 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2013.10782607
• Talan, T. & Aktürk, C. (2021). Investigation of digital literacy and information security awareness levels of secondary school students. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 18(1), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.33437/ksusbd.668255
• Teyfur, M., Akpunar, B., Safalı, S. & Ercengiz, M. (2017). Relationship between academic procrastination behavior and social media dependency of the faculty of education students in terms of different variables. Turkish Studies, 12(33), 625-640 http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.12558
• Üstündağ, A. (2021). Examining secondary school students digital literacy levels during the COVID 19 pandemic process. Adıyaman University Journal of Social Sciences, 39, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.14520/adyusbd.1009512
• Yıldız, Ç., Kahyaoğlu, M. & Kaya, F. (2012). An investigation into high school students’ digital literacy level. Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 5(3), 82-96 https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/usaksosbil/issue/21645/232694