RECONCEPTUALIZING DIGITAL LITERACY: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS TO ENHANCING SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

The present study aims to identify the predictive role of the dimensions of digital literacy – Communication, Copyright, Critical Thinking, Connectedness, Creativity and Collaboration, and social intelligence. Samples were gathered from 850 B.Ed. college students studying in colleges affiliated to TNTEU and Deemed Universities in Chennai districts. A 18-item of Digital Literacy adopted and modified and an 8-item of Social Intelligence Scale prepared by the researcher along with the research supervisor were used to evaluate digital literacy and social intelligence, respectively. Descriptive survey method is used for the study. Descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis was conducted and the results showed that the model was statistically significant with a p value of <0.001. The study showed that there is 38.1% pf variance in Social Intelligence with an R² value of 0.381. It is found from the analysis that, Communication (p < 0.001) and Critical Thinking (p < 0.001) are strong predictors of Social Intelligence. Copyright (p = 0.049) and Collaboration (p = 0.017) are also found to be significant predictors but Creativity (p = 0.912) and Connectedness (p = 0.140) have no effect on the Social Intelligence of B.Ed. college Students. The findings of the study highlight the importance of the six dimensions of Digital Literacy (Communication, Copyright, Critical Thinking, Connectedness, Creativity and Collaboration) on Social Intelligence.