Literacy Development Research Articles

Research on Digital Literacy of Humanities and Social Science Students

[Purpose / Significance] In the info society, digital education is vital for digital society building. College students, as digital transformation helpers, should have basic digital literacy. [Method / process] This study targets humanities and social science students, integrating national digital literacy initiatives and domestic/international frameworks. A digital literacy framework was built using Delphi and AHP. 402 valid questionnaires were analyzed with descriptive stats & cluster analysis. [Results / Conclusion]Humanities students' digital literacy includes: info/data literacy, learning/thinking ability, digital citizenship, and tech application. Self-reported literacy is generally good, but tech innovation is a weakness. All dimensions show hierarchical characteristics. This study proposes: integrating digital literacy with professional training, building educational programs, and providing diverse training scenarios for comprehensive digital literacy development.

Digital technology access, labor market behavior, and income inequality in rural China

This study uses China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2010 to 2018 to empirically investigate the interplay between digital technology access, labor market behavior, and income inequality in rural China. The following salient conclusions are derived. Digital technology access has a substantial negative influence on individual income inequality in rural China, with a more pronounced inhibitory effect on inequality among low-income groups, males, middle and higher professional classes, and younger cohorts. Mechanism analysis suggests that digital technology access significantly impacts a range of rural labor practices, including increasing the frequency of digital technology use among rural inhabitants, decreasing credit costs, enhancing entrepreneurial activities, and boosting rural labor mobility. Based on these findings, this study proposes accelerating digital infrastructure development in rural regions, improving digital and financial literacy among rural residents, and refining inclusive digital financial services to facilitate more stable and sustainable progress to promote common prosperity.

A Pilot Study Toward Development of the Digital Literacy, Usability, and Acceptability of Technology Instrument for Healthcare.

Electronic health record proficiency is critical for health professionals to deliver and document patient care. There is scarce research on this topic within undergraduate nursing student populations. The purpose of this study is to describe the psychometric evaluation of the Digital Literacy, Usability, and Acceptability of Technology Instrument for Healthcare. A cross-sectional pilot study for psychometric evaluation of the instrument was conducted using data collected through an emailed survey. Exploratory factor analysis, inter-item and adjusted item-total correlations, and Cronbach's α calculated subscale reliability. A total of 297 nursing students completed the survey. A seven-factor structure best fit the data: technology use-engagement, technology use-confidence, technology use-history, electronic health record-ease of use, electronic health record-comparability, and electronic health record-burden. Cronbach's α indicated good to very good internal consistency (α = .68 to .89). The instrument effectively measured digital literacy, acceptance, and usability of an electronic health record and may be implemented with good to very good reliability across varied healthcare simulation and training experiences.

Using prevention guidance of common physiological symptoms in pregnancy: a qualitative study

Information about pregnancy is widely accessed by pregnant women, ranging from electronic media, print media, and even social media. One of them is the guide to the prevention of common physiological symptoms in pregnancy (PGCPSP). This guide quantitatively has a very positive impact on the success of preventing pregnancy complaints. However, independent attitudes related to the experience of using this guide have not been measured. The satisfaction and success of pregnant women in using this media is a benchmark for researchers to develop this educational media. This study aims to explore in depth the experiences of pregnant women in preventing and managing pregnancy complaints using the PGCPSP. This research is a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with six pregnant women and four midwives. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and thematically analyzed using NVivo 12 trial version software. We identified three themes and eight sub-themes related to the experience of using PGCPSP: personal condition before using PGCPSP, experience of using PGCPSP, and recommendations for PGCPSP development. Literacy media such as PGCPSP positively impact pregnant women's experiences in overcoming various complaints. Health service providers must develop strategies using educational media. so that pregnant women have the knowledge and foster self-confidence for a satisfying pregnancy experience. In addition, efforts to develop forms of educational media through digital platforms are needed for the development of digital literacy for pregnant women in the future.

Social Studies and Love of Art: Students and Teachers Enlighten the Connections

Art and artistic activities that play a significant role in the lives of both children and adults, are an important requirement for all individuals. Cultures develop, expand, and enrich through artistic activities, which are important for the development of visual literacy, especially in social studies. The present study aims to determine the reflection of various artistic branches in social studies course and the student interest and love that art considered to evoke in the context of the social studies course. In the study, qualitative research methods and techniques were used to review relevant documents and to determine the participant views about the role of art in social studies. First, the current Turkish social studies curricula and textbooks were analyzed. Then, an interview form developed by the authors was applied to 80 students attending all grades in a public middle school and 3 teachers employed in these schools in one of the major cities in Turkey. The attributes employed by the teachers and students in the interview form were analyzed with thematic/content analysis. The study findings demonstrated that that the curricula and textbook achievements that allow activities in several art branches were limited. However, despite the limitation, the study findings demonstrated that the students were interested in different art branches and evidenced the support of the social studies to the development of interest and love for certain learning areas.

The Impact of the News on Children and Children’s Perception of the News

The research aims to examine the impact of watching the news on children in line with the answers received from them. In the research conducted in the phenomenological design, interviews were conducted through a semi-structured interview form created by getting expert opinion. The data obtained after the interviews with 105 children between the ages of 6 and 8 were analyzed with the descriptive analysis method. Consistent with the purpose of the research, the following themes were obtained from the data: "the purpose of the news", "the meaning of the news", "the emotional impact of the news" and "the news and the family". As a result of the research, it has been concluded that the news has a positive purpose but a negative meaning for most of the children, the color that attracts attention is red, the news that makes children sad is more, and the families watch the news unresponsively. The research provides significant clues for researchers, educators and families working on media literacy and child development.

Program Pengembangan Kemampuan Literasi Dasar Anak Usia Dini Melalui Media Cergam Digital

The phenomenon of low literacy in Indonesian society in the current digital era raises various assumptions regarding the causal factors and solutions. Various literature states that this stems from literacy habits from an early age. Related to this problem, there is one innovation in language learning for early childhood. The innovation is expressed in the form of a program to develop basic literacy skills in early childhood through digital illustrated stories. This research aims to find out in depth about the program. Thus, the appropriate method to use in this research is a case study. The subjects in this study were teachers and 25 students from Group B of Marsudi Rini Kindergarten, Karanganyar District, Demak Regency. Research data were obtained through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of this study show that: (1) the basic literacy development program at Marsudi Rini Kindergarten is carried out with systematic stages with support from inside and outside the school, (2) the basic literacy development program at Marsudi Rini Kindergarten is implemented in an integrated manner with language learning, both receptive and expressive; (3) digital illustrated stories media used in the program is adjusted to the criteria for early childhood development, both in terms of presentation form, content, and language.

Weapons of mass construction: The role of the Australian Curriculum in political discourse

AbstractNational curricula influence, and are influenced by, political agendas. Understanding political enmeshment (both overt and covert) in curriculum development is therefore vital for ensuring transparency and quality in curricula. This paper analyses how the Australian Curriculum is represented in the federal Education Ministers' media releases. Using NVivo, media releases were inductively coded into two broad themes: (a) back to basics, overcrowding and phonics; and (b) Australian ‘truth’: History, democracy and identity. By organising political discourse into the narrative presented below, I argue that the Australian Curriculum is used as a weapon of mass construction. In other words, politicians use curriculum development and renewal to enforce particular subject positions and attack the other side of government. As a result, genuine curriculum renewal is stymied, with each new government claiming that it is correcting the mistakes of the previous government while appearing to make no tangible changes. The implications of this analysis are that greater transparency of political involvement is needed in curriculum materials, greater teacher autonomy is needed to adapt curricula to localised contexts and greater student freedom to contest curricula is needed to ensure robust literacy development and meaningful engagement with subject knowledge.

Transforming Children’s Library Services: Literacy and Competency Development Perspectives

ABSTRACT This research highlights the crucial function of children’s library services in advancing literacy and competency development. It underscores the urgency for libraries to evolve beyond conventional roles, advocating for a comprehensive literacy framework that integrates reading, writing, digital literacy, and critical thinking. Through qualitative analysis, the study outlines strategic measures for transforming libraries into vibrant, interactive spaces that nurture children’s intellectual and social growth, positioning libraries as key facilitators of lifelong learning. It calls for a significant paradigm shift in children’s library services to adeptly address emerging educational demands, emphasizing innovation and inclusivity in service design.

An empirical analysis of EFL teachers’ digital literacy in Chinese higher education institutions

In 2022, China’s Educational Ministry, for the first time, released an industry standard for teachers’ digital literacy. This standard provides a holistic framework for teachers’ digital literacy (TDL) in five dimensions. Since few studies have investigated EFL teachers’ digital literacy, the relationships among the five dimensions proposed for EFL teachers’ digital literacy remain unknown. Therefore, this research applied a quantitative method using a five-point Likert questionnaire designed based on TDL. Ninety-two EFL teachers from two universities and one higher vocational college in China participated in this questionnaire research. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships between these five dimensions. The relationships between the five TDL dimensions were highlighted by the findings, which supported the proposed model. In addition, implications for enhancing EFL teachers’ future digital literacy have been provided to facilitate and favor EFL teachers’ digital literacy development.

Literacy and signing deaf students: a multi-national scoping review.

Many literature reviews or other types of reviews (e.g., meta-analyses, scoping reviews) in deaf education research are focused upon primarily or exclusively research that is performed in U.S. contexts or English-speaking contexts only. However, research that is conducted in non-English-speaking, non-U.S. settings that may be more likely to be multilingual, has value for our understanding of how deaf students using multiple languages may develop literacy skills. The objective of this review was to explore the literature on literacy development with deaf learners conducted outside of English-speaking contexts that has been published in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. We identified 13 English-language articles, 9 Portuguese-language articles, and 0 Spanish articles that met inclusion criteria. From these articles, we glean important insights into the reading process, including the teaching of subskills of reading, writing instruction, early literacy experiences, and the potential relationship between signed languages and literacy. We also note the need for multiple, converging sources of evidence and the value of an asset-driven approach to understanding deaf learners.

Memahami Pengaruh Lingkungan Sekolah terhadap Kemampuan Membaca Lancar Level 3 pada Anak Sekolah Dasar

This research aims to understand the influence of the school environment on the reading fluency of fifth-grade elementary school students. The school environment includes factors such as the quality of teaching, the availability of reading materials, support from teachers, and a conducive learning atmosphere. The research methods used are surveys and observations in elementary schools. The results of the study show that a good and supportive school environment has a positive correlation with students' reading fluency. Factors such as interactive teaching approaches, adequate library availability, and emotional support from teachers have been proven to improve students' reading abilities. These findings underline the importance of creating a conducive school environment for the development of literacy in elementary students.

Metalinguistic Effects on English Spelling: A Structural Equation Model for Early Literacy Instruction

English word spelling attempts originate from spellers’ linguistic and metalinguistic processing. Our study examines the concerted impact of English metalinguistic skills- morphological, phonological, and orthographic processing- on English-as-a-foreign language spelling of a group of young English learners. Structural equation modeling confirmed a three-factor confirmatory factor model, validating phonological awareness on spelling with highest factor loading with degrees of morphology and orthography contribution to spelling. The qualitative spelling analyses also validated phonologically-oriented spelling errors as the most pervasive followed by unique contribution of orthography and morphology. Results, converging with existing literature, emphasize the metalinguistic skills impacts on early EFL literacy development.

Revolutionizing Elementary Education: The Family Literacy Module - Boosting Reading Interest and Skills

Literacy is a crucial indicator of educational success. Despite its importance, literacy skills in Indonesia remain suboptimal, as evidenced by various studies and surveys. This research aims to develop a family literacy module designed to enhance elementary school students' interest and reading skills. This study employed the Research and Development (RD) framework using the Borg Gall ten-stage model. Participants included 69 parents and 28 students. Data were collected through observations, questionnaires, and tests to evaluate the module's effectiveness. The developed family literacy module significantly improved students' reading interests and abilities, demonstrating its effectiveness as an educational tool. The study's findings indicate that the family literacy module provides a practical solution for addressing low literacy levels among elementary school students. By engaging both students and parents, the module fosters a supportive reading environment, which is essential for literacy improvement. The family literacy module effectively enhances elementary school students' reading interests and skills, offering a promising strategy for literacy development in Indonesia. Future research should investigate the broader application of this module and assess its long-term impacts on literacy enhancement.

Community-academic partnerships catalyze and sustain impact in research activities: A commentary.

This commentary explores the position that community-academic partnerships (CAPs) can guide collaborative, equitable, and innovative research activities, enhancing knowledge mobilization and overall research impact. We use an example within behavioural sciences (with the broader goal of improving physical literacy development and physical activity for newcomer children and youth) to apply key practices that build bidirectional and trustworthy relationships between researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers, ultimately leading to equity-centered outputs. We report on our experiences both narratively and in video format by interweaving the perspectives of diverse and multi-sectoral team members and describing efforts to continue to engage and drive the momentum of researchnetwork activities.

A transformational approach to addressing the needs of a new generation of ‘left behinds: a preliminary exploration of the dominance of ‘it/digital literacy’ in organisational processes

ABSTRACT There are two parts to this paper. In the first part, the paper takes a preliminary look at an emerging dominant literacy, IT literacy, and its potential impact on some members of relevant communities. Drawing on the perception of literacy as social practice, the paper locates organisational processes within institutions as belonging to a specific social practice and explores the pattern of dominance of IT literacy that is beginning to emerge within this practice. Using qualitative methods of interviews and a focus group discussion, the study conducted a preliminary exploration of the views of staff within one organisation on the impact of this new dominant literacy. Some of the emergent views elicit the notions of exclusion, inadequacies, and imposition. The second part of the paper explores how this potentially excluding process could be addressed in a democratic way. It suggests that organisations can avoid the negative impact by drawing on transformative approaches to literacy development. It emphasises the use of dialogic engagement with staff to identify needs and map out the processes for meeting the identified drives and advocates that employers should shift from a reductive model and instead build a transformative approach into their needs analysis processes to promote a cycle of empowerment.

Preservation as a Shared Responsibility: Collaboration for the Sustainable Preservation of Ambon Manuscripts

Abstract The study supplements manuscript digitization, which often overlooks owners’ role in manuscript literacy, highlighting their integral connection to preservation efforts. This is particularly relevant concerning Ambon manuscripts in the former Hitu kingdom. The study’s primary objective is to discern optimal practices for sustainable preservation, emphasizing the community owners not as passive entities but as individuals possessing significant knowledge and skills, competencies which can be effectively employed to safeguard and uphold manuscripts. The data collection process encompassed comprehensive literature reviews on digital manuscript collections, interviews with owners, focus group discussions (FGD) involving the younger generation of heirs, FGD with Ambon manuscript researchers at IAIN Ambon, and observations on manuscripts and cultural practices within the community. The findings reveal notable aspects such as: 1) degradation occurs in Ambon manuscripts, both in their physical state and the transmission of knowledge post-digitization, which underscores a deficiency in knowledge transfer between manuscript users and owners, representing an ethical responsibility; 2) within Ambon society, old houses function as literacy centers for the community. Given the substantial quantity of manuscripts, these houses should be recognized as scriptoria and serve as foundational points for manuscript-based literacy development; and 3) traditional practices within owner communities indicate that manuscript knowledge/literacy extends beyond basic reading and writing skills. It encompasses a holistic and comprehensive understanding of knowledge, including its relevance to daily life, categorization, origins, literacy, preservation skills (particularly caring and copying), and utilization (for legitimacy, anticipation/conflict resolution, and even economic purposes).

Development of the Physical Literacy in Adults Scale (PLAS)

ABSTRACT Physical literacy relates to an individual’s capacity to live a physically active and healthy lifestyle across the lifespan. Our understanding of physical literacy as a lifelong journey is hindered by a lack of valid measurement for adult populations. In response, we created a measure of physical literacy applicable to adults. A sample of 1180 adults answered a series of existing questionnaires assessing aspects of physical literacy. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis techniques, we reduced the items to a 23-item six factor model, which had good fit to the data in both the exploratory analysis (χ2 (130) = 254.770, p < 0.001; TLI = 0.965; RMSEA = 0.040 (95% CI: 0.031, 0.049)) and confirmatory analysis (χ2 ;(130) = 252.005, p < 0.001; TLI = 0.957; RMSEA = 0.046 (95% CI: 0.036, 0.056)). The resulting subjective measure, the Physical Literacy in Adults Scale (PLAS), is a single psychometric measure applicable to adults aged 18–75 years. The PLAS covers four domains (physical, psychological, social and cognitive) of physical literacy to provide a holistic physical literacy outcome. The PLAS represents an appropriate way to assess adult physical literacy, providing an important first step in understanding physical literacy as a lifelong journey.

Students’ Perception of Cultural Literacy Development in Higher Education

Students’ Perception of Cultural Literacy Development in Higher Education

Comparison of Screening Questionnaire Results Focusing on Environmental Infl uences when Monitoring the Development of Reading Literacy among Pupils in the 1st Grade of Primary School

Comparison of Screening Questionnaire Results Focusing on Environmental Infl uences when Monitoring the Development of Reading Literacy among Pupils in the 1st Grade of Primary School