Strategic factors for digital citizenship development among students in Catholic schools in Nakhon Sawan Diocese, Thailand

Abstract

This mixed-method research aims to study the digital citizenship development activities and the strategic factors for digital citizenship development among students in Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese, Thailand. The qualitative part of the research involved document analysis and in-depth interviews with experts. The quantitative part was conducted with a sample of 1,477 teachers and students from Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese. The statistics applied consist of descriptive statistics (mean, S.D.) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The research findings are as follows: 1) The digital citizenship development activities organized by Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese are integrated into the curriculum. These curriculum enhancement activities cover 8 aspects of digital citizenship: digital citizen identity, screen time management, cyberbullying management, cybersecurity management, privacy management, critical thinking, digital footprint, and digital empathy; 2) The factor analysis, conducted using Principal Component Analysis and orthogonal rotation via the varimax method, identified 4 factors: Cybersecurity in the Digital World Development Strategy, Rational Decision-Making in the Digital World Strategy, Empathy in the Digital World Development Strategy, and Screen Time Management in the Digital World Development Strategy. Together, these four factors constitute 62.449 percent of the variance; 3) The digital citizenship development strategy for students in Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese aligns with the guidelines of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the teachings of Pope Francis on the use of digital technologies in our daily lives. It also aligns with the vision of educational administration outlined by the Catholic Education Council of Thailand. Therefore, this strategy can be applied across all Catholic schools.