Abstract

Technological integration has been a dominant feature of Egypt’s education recently, especially after the announcement of the Education 2.0 initiative, which aims to transform Egypt's education to digital-based and skill-based learning (UNICEF, n.d.), Ever since, public schools in Egypt started adopting technology into teaching practices through online classes, digital textbooks, e-learning platforms, and digital examinations. This educational transformation requires teachers and students to possess the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to become effective and responsible users of the transforming digital education system and the digital world in general, which are collectively known as Digital Intelligence (DQ). Despite the substantial role of DQ in Egypt’s education, little effort have been invested in researching DQ Education in K-12 schools of Egypt. Thus, this qualitative phenomenological study explores DQ in Egypt’s’ K-12 public schools to uncover potential challenges and opportunities related to DQ development in Egypt from educators’ perspectives. Such findings can potentially support policymakers in Egypt to consider DQ reforms within Egypt’s educational system. The study included 10 participants who are teachers, principals, counselors, and educational leaders. Findings showed that educators from different levels considered students to have a very positive attitude towards technology but pointed out a gap in substantial DQ areas such as online safety, information evaluation, and emotional aspects of online learning. Study findings also showed a wide skill gap between students and teachers which is further compounded by teachers’ lack of willingness to learn technology. Findings also showed a perceived presence of potential gaps between different teachers’ age and genders groups. The study suggests major strategies for teacher DQ development such as ongoing teacher training and increasing technology accessibility to teachers. The study also pointed out specific strategies to develop students’ DQ such as curriculum integration and students-led DQ initiatives. These findings informed the creation of a model for DQ development in Egyptian public schools with a set of indicators and success factors that might help other researchers, policymakers, and educational leaders in Egypt with their efforts in DQ research and development.

School

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department

Educational Studies Department

Degree Name

MA in International & Comparative Education

Graduation Date

Spring 6-12-2024

Submission Date

5-26-2024

First Advisor

Mustafa Toprak

Second Advisor

Heba Eldeghaidy

Committee Member 1

Teklu Bekele Abate

Committee Member 2

Daria Mizza

Extent

132 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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