Exploring Digital Competencies: Validation and Reliability of an Instrument for the Educational Community and for all Educational Stages

Abstract

Digital competencies are very significant in terms of integrating digital resources into educational processes. This study presents the validity and reliability of an instrument created by Carrera et al. (2011), in order to evaluate the basic digital competence of the three main educational agents of the educational community (teachers, students, and parents) for all educational stages (Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education and Higher Education), making use of digital resources to (1) Skills in management and transfer of technological data, (2) Software and hardware skills, (3) Web navigation skills, (4) Skills in using word processors, (5) Data processing and management skills, y (6) Multimedia presentation design skills. The application of the instrument was carried out with a sample of 1,149 participants from all educational stages, coming from the entire territory of the Dominican Republic. Reliability was assessed using various measures, including Cronbach’s Alpha, Spearman-Brown Coefficient, Guttman’s Two Halves, McDonald’s Omega, and composite reliability. To validate the instrument, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out with the purpose of understanding the validity and dimensionality of the scale (comprehension validity, construct validity, convergent, discriminant and invariance validity). The results demonstrated highly satisfactory reliability, and in terms of construct validity, a good fit of the model was observed, valid for any educational agent and for any educational stage. The final version of the instrument consists of 20 items classified into six latent factors.