Developing and validating the digital skills scale for school children (DSS-SC)

Abstract

As an important indicator of digital divide, the digital skills have been measured by many instruments on the netizens or adults in western countries. However, there are still few concerns on children in developing countries. This paper aimed to develop a reliable and valid digital skills scale for school children (DSS-SC) based on solid theoretical ground and robust empirical evidence. A cross-sectional study was conducted by cluster random sampling among Chinese urban-rural school children (N = 3217). After developing the initial framework and executing EFA and CFA, the final DSS-SC was a theoretically and empirically consistent instrument consisting of 22 items in 5 dimensions, i.e., Operational Skills (basic operation, information management, information navigation), Mobile Skills (software operation, device application), Social Skills (social sharing, social interaction), Creative Skills (content creation, content integration), and Safety Skills (privacy protection, risk prevention). It provided theoretical and practical significance in future research and digital education.