Development of a Scale to Explore Technology Literacy Skills of Turkish 8th Graders

Oct 15, 2026

The study aimed to develop a scale for investigating Turkish 8th graders’ competencies regarding educational technology standards aligned with ISTE-NETS. After a review of relevant literature, an item pool was refined through expert opinions and pilot implementations. Exploratory factor analysis used data from 620 students across six cities, yielding a four-factor 21-item structure explaining 51% of total variance. Confirmatory testing with 210 new participants from another city supported the proposed factor model after minor modifications, with acceptable reliability and fit indices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Technology and knowledge society

ICT education reforms and evaluation gaps

Standards for measuring technology literacy

ISTE NETS-S framework for students

Development of a Scale to Explore Technology Literacy Skills of Turkish 8th Graders Zeynel A. Misirli & Yavuz Akbulut Anadolu University, Turkey Abstract The use of emerging technologies shape learners’ knowledge creation and transformation processes. In this regard, this study aimed to develop a scale to investigate 8th graders’competencies regarding the educational technology standards based on ISTE-NETS. After areview of relevant literature, an item pool was prepared. The pool was improved through expert opinions and pilot implementations. The items were administered to 620 Turkish students from six different cities for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) . A four-factor structure with a total of 21 items emerged and explained 51 percent of the total variance. Factors were named technical proficiency, creativity, digital citizenship and participation, and innovativeness. Each factor had acceptable internal consistency coefficients. For the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the scale was administered to 210 new participants from a different city in Turkey. A few modification indices led to acceptable fit values. Thus, the suggested factor structure was considered plausible. Implications of the study were provided, followed by the recommendations for further research. Keywords: Technology integration; Technology literacy; Educational technology standards; NETS-S; Scale development Introduction Advances in emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) have created new opportunities in terms of globalization, acculturation, knowledge creation and widespread diffusion of new practices. Moreover, these opportunities have transformed individuals’thinking, behaviors, communication patterns, working habits, and life styles (UNESCO, 2005) . Because of the tremendous increase in the volume and circulation of knowledge, it is getting harder and harder to keep up. Therefore, individuals’ competencies and skills should change in order to survive in the knowledge era since they are now expected to know better how to reach critical information, use the knowledge they have, and create new knowledge through reconfiguring their existing skills. As a consequence of increasing emphasis on the information society, a general consensus has been reached on issues like lifelong learning, creativity, and constant progress. These are significant characteristics of a learning society. Thus, one can argue that equipping people with information and communication technology (ICT) competences, starting from the early years of the childhood is integral to preparing them for the requirements of a hectic working and thinking environment. In order to address this problem, many countries have implemented ICT courses in schools or carried out ICT-related educational reforms (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2006; Fox & Henri, 2005; Greenhow, Robelia, & Hughes, 2009; Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, 2008; National School Boards Association, 2007) . For instance, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Program initiated by the US government in 2001 aimed to improve student achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and narrow the achievement gap between the highest and the lowest-performing students. Similarly, the Turkish Ministry of Education (MNE) has made considerable investments to improve the quality of education through enriching learning environments with ICTs (Gulbahar & Guven, 2008) . However, empirical evaluations of these investments are yet to be investigated. Throughout the world, ICT-related educational reforms focus primarily on infrastructure whereas the investment on human performance seems to lag behind. In this respect, investigating both teachers’ and students’ technology literacy skills carry the utmost importance to help 21st century individuals keep pace with technological advances. Individuals need to be literate regarding new and constantly changing technologies. However, there is also the

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study?

To develop a scale to investigate Turkish 8th graders’ competencies regarding educational technology standards based on ISTE-NETS.

How were the scale items developed and validated?

The item pool was prepared from literature, improved via expert opinions and pilot implementations, then tested using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.

What factor structure emerged from the exploratory analysis?

A four-factor structure with 21 items emerged, explaining 51% of the total variance, named technical proficiency, creativity, digital citizenship and participation, and innovativeness.

Oct 15, 2026

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