Understanding students’ digital literacies profiles across gender, socio-economic status, and education level

Abstract

As technology becomes an integral part of students’ lives in today’s digital age, it has become increasingly important to develop an understanding of their digital literacies, encompassing not only their competencies but also beliefs and preferences towards the use of technology. In this paper, we report the findings from a research project that investigate the digital literacies of Primary 5 and Secondary 3 students in Singapore using the Student Digital Literacies Profiling (SDLP) Tool, which we developed. Informed by the Common Framework of Reference for Intercultural Digital Literacies (CFRIDiL). The SDLP Tool offers a novel approach by assessing four dimensions of digital literacies: multimodal orchestration, digital technologies, intercultural communication, and transversal skills, while also integrating students’ beliefs and preferences to provide a more holistic understanding. The study explores potential differences in digital literacies based on gender and socio-economic status (SES) in Singapore. Findings from 513 students indicate that students had most positive ratings in multimodal orchestration, with girls indicating more positive ratings than boys, while intercultural communication received the lowest ratings. Socio-economic status impacted girls more negatively than boys in multimodal orchestration and digital technologies, and Primary 5 students rated themselves higher in both multimodal orchestration and digital technologies than Secondary 3 students. We conclude with recommendations to address gaps in intercultural communication, support digital learning, and provide equitable digital access for lower-SES students.