Digital Storytelling and Reading Skill Development

Abstract

This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the role of digital storytelling (DST) in supporting reading skill development among elementary school students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan. Grounded in contemporary reading science, including decoding, fluency, and language comprehension frameworks, the study conceptualizes reading skills as comprising two domains: foundational reading skills (decoding, fluency, and phonological processing) and higher-order reading comprehension (meaning construction and interpretation). A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 350 Arabic language and special education teachers using a validated instrument. Findings indicate that teachers perceive DST as a supportive instructional tool that may enhance students’ foundational reading skills and comprehension through multimodal scaffolding and increased engagement. Importantly, these results reflect teachers’ perceived effectiveness of DST rather than direct measures of student learning outcomes. Significant differences in perceptions were observed across demographic variables including gender, country, specialization, experience, qualification, and school type. The study contributes by integrating DST within established reading instruction theories and by proposing a conceptual model linking digital scaffolding, teacher factors, and reading skill domains. Implications highlight the need for structured pedagogical integration of DST and future research incorporating objective student performance data.