Defining digital literacy development: An examination of pre-service teachers’ beliefs

We identify three conceptions of digital literacy development populating the literature: digital natives, skill-based, and sociocultural perspectives. We adopt a qualitative approach to examine pre-service teachers' beliefs about digital literacy development as aligned with each of these three...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and education Vol. 138; pp. 146 - 158
Main Author: List, Alexandra
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2019
Subjects:
Beliefs
Digital literacy
Digital literacy development
Information literacy
Digital literacy
Information literacy
Beliefs
Digital literacy development
ISSN:0360-1315, 1873-782X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We identify three conceptions of digital literacy development populating the literature: digital natives, skill-based, and sociocultural perspectives. We adopt a qualitative approach to examine pre-service teachers' beliefs about digital literacy development as aligned with each of these three perspectives. While pre-service teachers were most commonly found to hold skill-based perspectives on digital literacy development, digital natives aligned and sociocultural perspectives were also well-represented. We further identify perspectives on digital literacy development uniquely appearing in students' responses. These include pre-service teachers’ conception of digital literacy development as autonomously developed, technology driven, or project based. We further examine the contexts within which pre-service teachers situate digital literacy as emerging; these include both formal and informal settings. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for instruction. •Pre-service teachers' beliefs about digital literacy development are investigated in reference to the extant literature.•Pre-service teachers' beliefs reflected digital natives, skill-based, and sociocultural perspectives.•Additional conceptions of digital literacy development were identified (e.g., technology driven).•The contexts within pre-service teachers situate their digital literacy development were further examined.
ISSN:0360-1315
1873-782X
DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.03.009