An Investigation of the Relationship Between Digital Literacy Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates and Their Attitudes Towards Distance Education

Oct 15, 2026

The study investigates how digital literacy levels of Social Studies teacher candidates relate to their attitudes toward distance education. It compares attitudes and digital literacy across gender, year of education, and income. Using a general screening model, data from 260 teacher candidates at state universities in Turkey’s Central Anatolia Region (2020–2021) were analyzed. Measures included the Digital Literacy Scale and the Distance Education Attitude Scale. Results show no significant digital literacy differences by gender or grade, with male candidates higher, and attitudes differing by gender and education year. Higher-income candidates showed more positive attitudes and higher digital literacy. Digital literacy had a positive, moderately significant correlation with attitudes and significantly predicted attitude scores.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background on distance education and digital technologies

COVID-19 impact on education delivery

Role of teachers and effectiveness of distance education

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Digital Literacy Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates and Their Attitudes Towards Distance Education Nazike KARAGÖZOĞLU1 Yozgat Bozok University Uğur GEZER2 Yozgat Bozok University Abstract The relationship between the digital literacy levels of Social Studies teacher candidates and their attitudes towards distance education was investigated in this study. In addition, attitudes of teacher candidates towards distance education and their digital literacy levels were compared in terms of gender, year of education and income variables. The sample of this study, in which the general screening model was used, consisted of 260 social studies teacher candidates studying at state universities in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. “Digital Literacy Scale” developed by Bayrakçı (2020) and “Distance Education Attitude Scale” developed by Ağır (2007) were used in the data collection process. Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test was run for data normality and after data normality was provided, regression and Pearson correlation analyzes, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA test and Post Hoc analysis were performed. The findings of the current study showed that the digital literacy levels of teacher candidates did not differ significantly depending on gender and grade levels, but the digital literacy levels of male teacher candidates were higher. It was observed that the attitudes of teacher candidates towards distance education significantly differed based on gender and year of education. It was determined that teacher candidates with high-income had a more positive attitude towards distance education and had higher levels of digital literacy compared to teacher candidates with low- and middle-income levels. The findings of the present study also showed that there was a positive and moderately significant relationship between digital literacy levels of teacher candidates and their attitudes towards distance education, and it was concluded that digital literacy levels of teacher candidates significantly predicted their attitude scores toward distance education. Keywords: Teacher candidates, Digital literacy, Distance education, Attitudes DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2022.248.11 1Assist. Prof. Dr., Education Faculty, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey, ORCID: (0000-0002-7410-3286) [Correspondence](Correspondence: nazike.karagozoglu@bozok.edu.tr)[: nazike.karagozoglu@bozok.edu.tr](Correspondence: nazike.karagozoglu@bozok.edu.tr) 2 Assist. Prof. Dr., Education Faculty, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey, ORCID: (0000-0001-6752-7526), Email: [ugur.gezer@bozok.edu.tr](ugur.gezer@bozok.edu.tr) Introduction With the official announcement of the first Covid case in Turkey, a number of measures have been taken in many areas from education to transportation, from working life to social life in order to control or reduce the spread of the epidemic (Balcı & Çetin, 2020) . Within the scope of these measures, education and training were suspended at all educational levels. Considering that the disease will still continue to spread and that it will take a long time for vaccination and treatment studies, it has been decided to carry out education-training activities through distance education. Educational activities have continued remotely by establishing teacher-student interaction by using technological devices such as computers, tablets and phones to the extent that the current technological equipment of teachers and students allows. Distance education is an interactive type of education eliminating the distance by means of information technologies, in which the teacher and the student or student group taking the course are physically in different environments. When the historical perspective of distance education is examined, it is seen that it has started with the aim of enabling individuals living in places where the traditional educa

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

The study examined the relationship between Social Studies teacher candidates’ digital literacy levels and their attitudes toward distance education.

Which factors were used to compare digital literacy and attitudes?

The analysis compared digital literacy and distance education attitudes by gender, year of education, and income variables.

What were the key findings regarding digital literacy and distance education attitudes?

Digital literacy was positively and moderately related to distance education attitudes, and it significantly predicted participants’ attitude scores.

Oct 15, 2026

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