Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In the 21st century, advancements in the domains of information access, connection and sharing, as well as the diversification of student characteristics and the evolution of learning theories, have precipitated a re-evaluation of conventional educational methodologies. In order to contend with the intricacies inherent in the digital age, there has been an acknowledgement of the necessity to enhance students' digital literacy, with the objectives in this context being incorporated into both international and national educational documents. The Turkish education system, which has restructured its curriculum to align with the demands of the 21st century, has also endeavored to enhance students' digital competencies. The objective of this study is to analyze science textbooks (from grades 3 to 12) employed in schools affiliated to the MoNE regarding digital literacy. For this purpose, a qualitative document analysis was conducted on the selected textbooks. To this end, a content evaluation form was developed, the construction of which was informed by the UNESCO Digital Literacy Competence Framework. The results of the study indicated that as the grade levels increased, the number of digital literacy competence areas also increased. The ‘Information and data literacy’ competence area demonstrated the highest coding rate, with 54% in primary textbooks and 56.7% in secondary textbooks. The references to ‘Digital content creation’ in primary textbooks (3%) are comparatively higher than the references to this area in secondary textbooks (1.6%). The level of ‘safety’ (0.8%) and ‘problem solving’ (0.8%) competencies is found to be quite low in all of the analyzed textbooks. The study provides a comprehensive guide to analyze textbooks in terms of digital literacy. It is recommended that science textbooks include more references to raise students as digitally literate individuals, taking into account their cognitive and affective developmental levels.
DOI: 10.46328/ijses.7445
Authors: Aliye Tuba Gülsoy, Mustafa Çakır
Institutions: Mi̇lli̇ Eği̇ti̇m Bakanliği, Marmara University
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Marmara Üniversitesi
OpenAlex ID: W7169831780