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Milena Ivanuš Grmek, Monika Mithans, and Sabina Ograjšek
at the Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, during the academic year
3/4. A more detailed description of the sample is presented in Table 1
below.
In our research, we included students from elementary education (63.8%)
and preschool education (36.%). Further examination reveals that the re-
search included students from first-degree (84.8%) and second-degree
(15.%) programmes. A detailed analysis of the student composition by year
of study shows that students from all years participated in the research. It ap-
pears that the students participating in the study are, on average, successful
in their academic endeavours, as their average grade is 8.55. The average age
of the students is 1.49 years, reflecting a relatively young population of par-
ticipants. Among the participants, the majority were female (91.%).
Instrument
For research purposes, we developed a questionnaire that included
closed-ended and open-ended questions. The questionnaire was divided
into several sections, which include the following: a) demographics, b) aca-
demic performance, c) participation in training and projects related to digital
literacy, d) use of digital technology, and f) digital competence. The most rel-
evant sections for this paper include the demographic questions and those
sections that are related to digital competence. The section on digital compe-
tencies was based on the Student Digital Competence Scale (SDiCoS) ques-
tionnaire, developed by Tzafilkou et al. (). It consists of the following six
areas: a) search, find, access (five items), b) develop, apply, modify (six items),
c) communicate, collaborate, share (three items), d) store, manage, delete
(five items), e) evaluate (six items), and f) protect (three items). Students pro-
vided their responses on a Likert scale ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to
5 – strongly agree. The section assessing digital competencies demonstrated
high overall reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha (α) higher than .9. The inter-
nal consistency for specific content areas was .7 or higher, indicating that
the questionnaire is suitable for further data analysis.
Research Design
To obtain data, we created an online questionnaire at the beginning of May
4. Personal invitations were extended to the students to participate in
the research, allowing them to access the questionnaire via a QR code. The
questionnaires were completed in the classroom and typically took between
five to ten minutes to complete. The procedures followed ethical guidelines,
ensuring anonymity and voluntary participation. Participants were also given
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