Evaluation of teachers' attitudes towards digital reading

In the digitalizing world, it is inevitable that there will be some changes in the reading process, as in everything else. This change has been in the direction of digitalization. As a result of this change, new concepts have inevitably entered the literature. One of these concepts is digital reading. The aim of this study is to evaluate teachers' attitudes towards digital reading and to determine their views on digital reading. With this research, mixed method, in which qualitative and quantitative research is used together, was used. The research was carried out in Denizli province in the 2022-2023 academic year. Teachers working in official primary schools, secondary schools and public education centers affiliated with the Ministry of National Education throughout Denizli province were reached. While "convenient sampling method" was used for quantitative research, "easily accessible sampling method" was used for qualitative research. Quantitative data was obtained from 307 teachers using the "Attitude Scale Towards Digital Reading (DOTÖ)" developed by Kırmızı Susar and Yurdakal (2021). Qualitative data was collected from 50 volunteer teachers using the "open-ended question form" developed within the scope of the study. It has been determined that teachers' attitudes towards digital reading do not differ according to their education level, place of work, having a computer, time devoted to digital reading, and socioeconomic level of the school where they work. However, it was determined that there was a significant difference according to the preferred source and digital book reading status. It has been determined that teachers' attitudes towards digital reading are significantly higher than those who do not read digital books in all dimensions and in general, according to the digital book reading variable. When the teachers' views on digital reading were examined, determinations were made regarding the advantages of digital reading. According to the participants, the most mentioned advantages are the fast and easy access to digital resources. Apart from these, advantages such as more economy, verifiable information, flexibility in reading, and access to different sources were also mentioned. Regarding the disadvantages of digital reading, teachers stated that it negatively affects eye health. On the other hand, reasons such as information pollution, lack of reading pleasure and health problems in the digital reading process were also expressed. According to the participants, resources are sufficient for digital reading. For the reliability of digital reading contents, teachers stated the need for verification of the contents. In line with the results obtained, it has been suggested that studies should be carried out to popularize digital reading and to eliminate negative attitudes. Keywords: Digital reading, attitude, teacher, mixed method.