Instrument development and validation to measure digital citizenship of secondary school students in Malaysia

The evolving digital landscape in education necessitates wellness and resilient practices among students to navigate online risks while maximizing the benefits of digital participation. The concept of digital citizenship, which promotes responsible behavior in the digital space, is pivotal in this context. However, the lack of a valid instrument tailored to secondary school students impedes comprehensive measurement and strategic intervention in evaluating, fostering, and promoting digital citizenship within this vulnerable group. The limited availability of instruments tailored to the Malaysian context, considering cultural nuances, hinders the understanding of the extent of digital citizenship initiatives in Malaysia. Consequently, the severity of digital issues experienced by secondary school students in Malaysia may remain untraced and unresolved. Furthermore, the evolving digital educational landscape presents new psychological-related online risks, underscoring the need for an adaptive instrument. Hence, this study aims to develop and validate an instrument (MyDCi) to measure digital citizenship among Malaysian secondary school students through three main phases: Development, Pre-validation, and Validation. Drawing on the Theory of Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, psychological theories, and Malaysia’s educational outcomes, 177 items were initially developed across nine constructs: digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital etiquette, digital health and wellness, digital law, digital literacy, digital rights and responsibilities, and digital security. MyDCi was pre-validated for its first 80 items using 347 responses from Form Four students obtained through purposive sampling. For its construct validation, involving 63 items, 232 responses from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya were obtained using a multistage sampling technique. CVI analysis was employed to validate MyDCi’s content with input from five experts and students, while the Rasch model was used for its construct validation, and linear regression and correlation coefficients were used for criterion validation. MyDCi achieved a satisfactory CVI value (0.78) and aligned with Rasch’s assumptions, with unidimensionality improving from 37.5% to 40.7% in MyDCi's final version. The final 56 items significantly predict holistic wellness with a 31% variance, demonstrating that MyDCi is a reliable and valid instrument aligned with national citizenship characteristics. The insights from this study contribute to enhancing educational strategies, policy formulation, and the overall development of digital citizens, both globally and in the Malaysian context. It offers a new option for a valid and reliable instrument for future research, enriching the body of knowledge on digital citizenship.

Text 122530.pdf Download (1MB) Official URL or Download Paper: http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18602

Actions (login required)

View Item