Assessing the dimensionality and educational impacts of integrated ICT literacy in the higher education context

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to introduce a conceptual model for assessing undergraduate students’ integrated information and communication technology (ICT) literacy capacity that involves 12 items generated from the modified version of the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) questionnaire (Coates, 2010); second, to illustrate the construct validity and internal consistency of the model as implemented in a sample of undergraduate students (n = 536) enrolled in two colleges within a large Ethiopian university; and third, to further demonstrate the criterion validity of the model by examining predictive validity of the identified ICT literacy factors on student learning outcomes. A multi-method approach is used, which comprises correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques. The main finding is the support found for the 4-factor model consisting of ICT use, cognitive process, reading task and writing task. Results of the multi-method approach provide specific guidelines to higher education (HE) institutions using this approach to evaluate ICT literacy capacity and the resultant learning outcomes among their undergraduate students. The paper provides a conceptual model and supporting tools that can be used by other HE institutions to assist in the evaluation of students’ ICT literacy capacities.