Digital literacy levels of social science teachers

The explanatory sequential design, which is one of the combined-method designs, was employed in this study to determine the digital literacy levels of Social Studies teachers. 543 social studies teachers participated in the quantitative part of our research, and 32 social studies teachers participated in the qualitative part of our research. The sample for the study was chosen as an easy and accessible sample. The data of the study were collected through the personal information form developed by the researcher, the interview form and the digital literacy scale developed by Sulak (2019). Data were collected using a personal information form, an interview form, and a digital literacy scale. The quantitative data collected in the research were evaluated using statistical software. The t-test one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze quantitative data for independent samples, whereas descriptive analysis was employed to analyze qualitative data. The digital literacy levels of Social Studies teachers were found to be at the "agree" level. Teachers' digital literacy levels differed significantly according to their gender, educational status, years of computer use, social networking, technology use in the course, in-service training, use of Web 2.0 technologies in the course, and use of Web 4.0 tools in the course. On the other hand, years of seniority, possessing a computer, and internet time were found to have no statistical significance. Although the digital literacy level of the teachers was high in the quantitative section of the study, it was lower in the qualitative section. According to the interviews, the teachers believe that their digital literacy abilities are not up to par with those of the young generation (Z). Conducting studies in this regard will surely increase the digital literacy level of Social Studies teachers. Courses on digital literacy skills included in the Social Studies course curriculum in 2017 should be taught at various university grade levels, and the Ministry of National Education should step up further efforts to improve the digital literacy abilities of Social Studies teachers. In addition to providing effective digital literacy training for Social Studies teachers, the content of Social Studies textbooks should be updated to reflect current technology, and digital materials (digital animation, digital story, augmented reality, virtual museum) that can be used in Social Studies courses should be enhanced in accordance with the learning outcomes.