Longitudinal assessment of digital literacy in children: Findings from a large Dutch single-school study

Abstract

This article reports on a three-year longitudinal study that portrayed the development of children's digital literacy skills. A sample of 151 fifth- and sixth-graders was tested three times at yearly intervals to monitor how their skills to collect, create, transform, and safely use digital information progressed. Results at the group level showed a steady linear increase in all four skills, but individual children tended to alternate substantial growth in one year with minimal progress during the next or vice versa. Children made most progress in their ability to collect information whereas their ability to create information improved the least. Development of most skills was moderately related and independent of gender, grade level, migration background, and improvements in reading comprehension and math. Children's socioeconomic status was weakly associated with the ability to collect and safely use information, but not with the other two digital literacy skills.