Factors Influencing the Development of Digital Literacy among Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to identify, conceptualize, and validate the factors influencing the development of digital literacy among elementary school teachers and to propose an empirically grounded conceptual model. Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fourteen experts, including university faculty members, educational administrators, and experienced elementary school teachers holding doctoral degrees and professional expertise in education and educational management. Participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis supported by MAXQDA12 software, leading to the extraction of basic, organizing, and global themes. Trustworthiness of findings was ensured through credibility, dependability, confirmability, and member checking procedures. For model validation, a questionnaire derived from the qualitative findings was developed, and a one-sample t-test was employed to assess the adequacy and validity of the proposed conceptual model. Findings: Inferential results demonstrated that the proposed digital literacy development model possessed strong internal validity. All four principal components—adaptability, comprehensibility, generalizability, and controllability—scored significantly above the benchmark mean (p<0.01). The findings indicated that the model aligns effectively with real educational contexts, demonstrates conceptual clarity for practitioners, shows transferability across comparable educational settings, and provides a coherent theoretical structure capable of guiding professional development initiatives and digital teaching practices. Conclusion: The study concludes that teachers’ digital literacy development requires an integrated multidimensional framework encompassing technological competence, pedagogical integration, ethical awareness, collaborative engagement, and continuous professional learning, and the validated model offers a strategic foundation for educational policy, teacher empowerment, and quality enhancement of learning in digitally mediated educational environments.