AFFECTIVE DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Introduction. Children's daily lives are now pervaded by the presence of digital environments and algorithmic systems (Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2020; Boyd, 2014), which necessarily require pedagogical reflection on the topic of digital affective literacy (Hobbs, 2011; Rivoltella, 2005; Ranieri, 2011). This study aims to investigate how structured educational programs can develop critical thinking and emotional awareness in primary school students (Kellner & Share, 2007; Calvani et al., 2010; Salovey & Mayer, 1990), considering the relationship between media education (Buckingham, 2003; Rivoltella, 2005), digital citizenship (Carretero et al., 2017), and social-emotional education (Durlak et al., 2011; CASEL, 2020; Morganti, 2012).

Method. This study involved 96 students divided into an experimental and control group, each consisting of 48 students. The study was conducted in a primary school in the province of Naples and involved two fourth-grade classes and two fifth-grade classes. Specifically, it was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest/posttest design and a non-equivalent control group. While the control group's teaching was predominantly traditional, the experimental group's was structured into four modules lasting a total of 24 hours, spread over 12 weeks, according to the principles of digital media literacy (Hobbs, 2011; Buckingham, 2019), social-emotional education (SEL) (Durlak et al., 2011; Zins et al., 2004; CASEL, 2020), and critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Kellner & Share, 2007). The survey instruments used were the Digital Critical Thinking Scale for Children (DCTS-C), the Digital Emotional Awareness Questionnaire (DEAQ), and an Algorithmic Manipulation Recognition Task (AMRT).

Results. The results were analyzed using analysis of covariance. Specifically, the differences in scores between the pre-test and post-test were significant for the following aspects: a) digital critical thinking ((F(1,93) = 18.45, p < 0.001, η²p = 0.16); b) emotional awareness in digital contexts (F(1,93) = 12.34, p < 0.001, η²p = 0.12); c) recognition of algorithmic manipulation (F(1,93) = 8.12, p = 0.005, η²p = 0.11). The results from this study, although moderate, are consistent with the scientific literature regarding the principles of SEL in developmental age (Durlak et al., 2011; Taylor et al., 2017; Sklad et al., 2012).

Discussion. Despite the limitations of this study, which stem from the exploratory nature of the study, the small sample size, and the limitations of the quasi-experimental design, the results indicate that educational interventions, albeit brief but systematic, can produce measurable improvements in elementary school children's ability to recognize manipulation dynamics in digital contexts (Martens, 2010; Pariser, 2011; Buckingham, 2019).