Examining digital culture in secondary education institutions in terms of different variables

This study aims to examine digital culture in secondary education institutions in terms of different variables. Digital culture is a new cultural structure that has emerged with the widespread use of technology and digital tools, shaping the lifestyle, communication, access to information and forms of expression of individuals and communities. Digitalization is a fundamental aspect of digital culture and has a significant impact on various aspects of society. Digital transformation is a necessity and should be implemented in areas that add quality to life, especially in education. Determining the digital culture that has taken its place in school culture with digitalization is important because it can give an idea about the success of digital transformation. Relational research model, one of the research models for determining digital culture, was used. In order to increase the depth of the research, information was collected through semi-structured interviews.The sample of the study consists of a total of 354 participants, including teachers and administrators working in secondary education institutions in the city center of Elazığ. To collect the quantitative data of the study, "Personal Information Form, "Digital Culture Scale", "Digital Literacy Scale", "Technology Acceptance Scale for Teachers" were used. Since there was no scale to determine the level of digital culture in the literature review, a 26-item scale study consisting of five sub-dimensions was conducted. "Semi-Structured Interview Form" was used to collect the qualitative data. Before analyzing the data obtained with the scales, normality analyses were conducted. As a result of the normality analyses, descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted for the quantitative data. Descriptive analysis was conducted using codes and themes in the analysis of the qualitative data. As a result of the research, the difference in the digital culture levels of the participants was in favor of the administrators. When examined in terms of sub-dimensions, statistically significant differences were found between teachers and administrators in favor of the administrators in the dimensions of cooperation and leadership. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in the sub-dimensions of technological competence, digital transformation and anxiety. It was concluded that other variables such as gender, age, seniority, and education status did not create a significant difference between the groups on digital culture awareness. However, participants with a high level of computer use, a level of use of other technological devices other than computers, and a high level of social media use were found to have high digital culture awareness. An important finding of the study is that no statistically significant difference was found between the digital literacy levels of the participants according to their job variable. In addition, the digital literacy level of the participants differed according to the variables of gender, age, professional seniority, computer use, a level of use of other technological devices other than computers, and social network use, while it did not create a statistically significant difference according to the educational status variables. As a result of the examination of the technology acceptance levels of the participants, it was concluded that there was no significant difference between the two groups on the basis of technology acceptance levels and sub-dimensions. In line with the findings regarding the differences between the participants in terms of various variables, there was a significant difference between the participants according to the variables of age, level of computer use, level of using technological devices other than computers and level of using social networks. However, it was concluded that there was no difference according to gender, educational status and professional seniority variables. According to the results of correlation analysis and regression analysis to determine the relationship between the variables, there is a significant positive relationship between digital culture, digital literacy and technology acceptance at a moderate level. According to the results of multiple regression analysis between digital culture, digital literacy and technology acceptance levels, it is concluded that digital literacy and technology acceptance variables are significant predictors of digital culture. In addition, digital literacy and technology acceptance variables explain 32% of the variance in digital culture awareness. From the data obtained as a result of semi-structured interviews, the factors affecting the formation of digital culture in an institution, the factors that hinder it, and the opinions of the participants to determine what to do to develop digital culture were determined. In addition, the participants stated that the variables of digital culture, digital literacy and technology acceptance are related to each other. It was concluded that digital literacy and technology acceptance levels have an effect on the formation of digital culture in an institution. Keywords: Digital culture, digital literacy, technology acceptance