A Study on Enhancing Students’ Awareness in Digital Media Usage for Social Studies Instruction to Foster Analytical Thinking Skills among Vocational Certificate Students

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research aimed to investigate the effects of a digital media awareness–oriented instructional approach on the development of analytical thinking skills among vocational students. A one-group pretest–posttest design was employed. The sample consisted of 120 first-year Vocational Certificate students, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments comprised (1) an analytical thinking assessment and (2) a digital media awareness assessment, both of which were validated for content accuracy by experts, yielding Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) indices ranging from 0.80 to 1.00. The intervention was implemented over a six-week period through a systematically designed learning plan integrating high-quality digital media, evidence-based online resources, interactive learning materials, and structured critical reflection activities.

          The findings revealed that posttest analytical thinking scores were significantly higher than pretest scores at the .05 level, with a moderate effect size, demonstrating the empirical effectiveness of the instructional approach in enhancing students’ analytical thinking skills. Furthermore, students’ digital media awareness increased from a moderate to a high level following the intervention, indicating the effectiveness of incorporating digital media awareness–enhancement activities within vocational education context.