Teachers and science communication on social media: development and initial validation of assessment instruments
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.45461Keywords:
media competence, university teachers, digital social networks, assessment, content validity, reliabilityAbstract
In the current context of digital education and open science, university professors are not only knowledge creators through their scientific and professional output but are also expected to disseminate it to both academic and non-specialist audiences. While related to digital competence, media literacy provides a critical-communicative perspective essential for effective science dissemination, particularly via digital social networks (DSNs). This study designed and validated two constructs to assess teachers' media competence (TMC): one focused on general DSN use and the other specifically on LinkedIn. Both models integrate the Common Framework for Digital Teaching Competence 2.2 and the media literacy model by Ferrés and Piscitelli (2012). The validation process combined theoretical review, expert judgment (n = 30), and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Data suitability was confirmed through KMO (> 0.80) and Bartlett's test of sphericity, with both instruments showing high reliability (α > 0.85; ω > 0.87). The EFA identified six theoretical dimensions, explaining 78.2% of the variance for DSN and 78.8% for LinkedIn. These findings provide an initial approximation of the TMC structure and its potential for diagnostic use in teacher training, highlighting LinkedIn’s strategic role as a professional environment for academic dissemination. The incorporation of communicative and media strategies in teacher education is underscored. Future research should include confirmatory factor analysis with larger samples to consolidate these initial results.
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