Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Digital Empowerment of Primary School Students

It is essential to enhance young learners' digital competency skills in the hope of empowering them in the digital world. Although past studies have examined measurements of university learners' digital empowerment, the literature has lacked discussion of digital empowerment in the primary school context. This study aims to develop and validate an instrument on digital empowerment of primary school students. The sample consists of 328 local primary school students from grades 4 to 6. Exploratory factor analysis showed a multi-dimensional structure of digital empowerment composed of (1) meaningfulness, (2) impact, (3) creativity belief, and (4) competence belief. Confirmatory factor analysis further confirmed the validity and reliability of digital empowerment as a multi-dimensional construct. This digital empowerment scale can serve as a tool to evaluate young learners' perceived competence when using digital technologies from the technological world in the primary school context.