Research Article

Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness

Volume: 10 Number: 2 July 2, 2025
EN

Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness

Abstract

In the 21st century, the concept of digital literacy (DL) has become an essential skill set that empowers educators to harness the full potential of technology in the classroom as a crucial element for teaching 21st-century skills (T21C). This study aims to explore pre-service teachers’ level of DL and their capabilities of T21C, and whether their DL level influences their capabilities of T21C. A quantitative research design was employed using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 to conduct descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analyses, Pearson correlation, and path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework to examine the relationships among variables at a 95% confidence level. The study was conducted on 383 pre-service teachers studying at different faculties of education in Turkiye. The results revealed that the majority of pre-service teachers exhibited a moderate level of DL, but with a smaller proportion falling into the categories of low or high DL. Pre-service teachers’ overall capabilities of T21C were detected as moderate. In contrast, the majority of pre-service teachers had a moderate level of capabilities in utility of technology (UOT), collaboration (CO), and innovation and problem-solving (IP). Still, a smaller proportion was categorized as low or high. The findings also identified a significantly substantial and positive correlation between pre-service teachers’ DL and their capabilities of T21C, which indicates that as their DL levels rose, there was a corresponding tendency towards their enhanced proficiency in T21C, including the constructs of UOT, CO, and IP.

Keywords

digital literacy, teaching 21st-century skills, teacher education, digital pedagogies, pre-service teachers

Project Number

346

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Board of Ethics for Human Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities on 30.03.2023 with project number 346.

References

  1. Akayoglu, S., Satar, H. M., Dikilitas, K., Cirit, N. C., & Korkmazgil, S. (2020). Digital literacy practices of Turkish pre-service EFL teachers. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(1), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.4711
  2. Antoniuk, L., & Zasiadivko, V. (2023). Digital literacy and technologies for education: Principles and tools. Grail of Science, (26), 249–252. https://doi.org/10.36074/grail-of-science.14.04.2023.044
  3. Arstorp, A.-T. (2021). 25+ years of ICT in policy documents for teacher education in Norway and Denmark (1992 to 2020): A study of how digital technology is integrated into policy documents. Education Inquiry, 12(4), 365–389. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2021.1972594
  4. Barbutiu, S. M., & Kack, A. (2016). Integrating digital literacy in teacher education - the perpetual challenge of a learning organization. In L. G. Chova, A. L. Martinez, & I. C. Torres (Eds.), EDULEARN16: 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (pp. 4255–4264). IATED-INT Assoc Technology Education A\& Development.
  5. Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238
  6. Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588
  7. Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
  8. Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological Methods & Research, 21(2), 230–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124192021002005
  9. Caena, F., & Redecker, C. (2019). Aligning teacher competence frameworks to 21st century challenges: The case for the European Digital Competence Framework for Educators (Digcompedu). European Journal of Education, 54(3), 356–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12345
  10. Campbell, E., & Kapp, R. (2020). Developing an integrated, situated model for digital literacy in pre-service teacher education. Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), 18–30. Retrieved January 23, 2024, from http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682020000200003&nrm=iso
APA
Fayda Kınık, F. Ş. (2025). Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, 10(2), 260-272. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1662454
AMA
1.Fayda Kınık FŞ. Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness. JOLTIDA. 2025;10(2):260-272. doi:10.53850/joltida.1662454
Chicago
Fayda Kınık, F. Şehkar. 2025. “Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10 (2): 260-72. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1662454.
EndNote
Fayda Kınık FŞ (July 1, 2025) Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10 2 260–272.
IEEE
[1]F. Ş. Fayda Kınık, “Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness”, JOLTIDA, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 260–272, July 2025, doi: 10.53850/joltida.1662454.
ISNAD
Fayda Kınık, F. Şehkar. “Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age 10/2 (July 1, 2025): 260-272. https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1662454.
JAMA
1.Fayda Kınık FŞ. Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness. JOLTIDA. 2025;10:260–272.
MLA
Fayda Kınık, F. Şehkar. “Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness”. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, vol. 10, no. 2, July 2025, pp. 260-72, doi:10.53850/joltida.1662454.
Vancouver
1.F. Şehkar Fayda Kınık. Cultivating Digital Pedagogies in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Examination of Pre-Service Teachers’ Capabilities and Readiness. JOLTIDA. 2025 Jul. 1;10(2):260-72. doi:10.53850/joltida.1662454