The Development of Digital Citizenship Scale for High School Students

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) develop and validate a digital citizenship scale for secondary school students and 2) examine the quality of the developed scale. The sample consisted of 234 secondary school students from schools under the office of the basic education commission. The research instrument was a 20-item digital citizenship scale using a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and advanced statistical methods, including reliability analysis via Cronbach’s alpha and omega coefficients, item discrimination analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings indicated that 1) A digital citizenship scale was developed for high school students, consisting of four components: digital ethics, digital media literacy, digital participation, and digital safety and security, and 2) the scale demonstrated excellent overall reliability (α = .94, ω = .94). 19 out of 20 items met the acceptable  discrimination criteria (.40). The CFA results showed that the model fit the empirical data well (χ2 (16, N = 234) = 396, p = .37, CFI = .93, TLI = .92, SRMR = .05, RMSEA = .08). And when the structural components are analyzed separately by the components of digital citizenship, it is shown that the model is consistent with empirical data. (CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .04, SRMR = .03). Therefore, the scale is reliable and practical, making it suitable for assessing digital citizenship behaviors and attitudes in educational contexts. It can also serve as a guideline for curriculum development and activities that promote digital citizenship skills, as well as for future research.