Measurement and profiles of digital literacy among English teachers in Chinese University

This study seeks to development and validate the Digital Literacy Scale (DLS) tailored for English teachers in Chinese universities, providing a robust tool for assessing their digital literacy. Amid the ongoing digital transformation of education, faculty digital literacy has become a cornerstone for driving the digitization of higher education, enhancing the quality of teaching, and fostering a digitally empowered society. Despite its importance, existing research predominantly focuses on conceptual frameworks and theoretical analyses. Crucially, there remains a notable paucity of studies that integrate digital literacy into subject-specific contexts, such as English education, or that rigorously validate assessment tools designed specifically for English teachers in Chinese universities. To address this measurement lacuna, data were gathered from a cohort of 541 English teachers at Chinese universities (Nmale = 127; Nfemale = 414) and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the proposed measurement model. The CFA results demonstrate that the DLS exhibits robust psychometric properties. Additionally, the average digital literacy score among English teachers at Chinese universities was 4.79 (SD = .73), indicating a relatively high level of digital proficiency within this cohort. This study further discusses the implications of utilizing the DLS as a reliable tool for assessing digital literacy in this academic context.