Examining the Relationship between Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, their Digital Competence, Strategies to Evaluate Information, and use of ICT at School

ABSTRACT

Research indicates that self-efficacy in teaching is a key issue for carrying out good teaching practice. The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy in information and communication technologies (ICT), their strategies to evaluate information, their digital competence, and use of ICT at school. A sample of 332 teachers participated in a survey. The teachers answered self-report questions and responded to a multiple-choice test on digital competence. Structural equation modelling was used to test a hypothesized model of the relationship between self-efficacy in basic ICT, self-efficacy in online collaboration, strategies to evaluate information, digital competence, and the use of ICT. The analysis confirmed that the empirical data supported the hypothesized model. Significant factor loadings and positive relationships between the factors were found. Overall, the factors in the model explained 41% of teachers’ digital competence, 49% of their self-efficacy in online collaborative, and 36% of their use of ICT at school.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers’ self-efficacy
• digital competence
• strategies to evaluate information
• structural equation modelling

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.