Modeling the relationship between pre-service teachers’ TPACK and digital nativity

The purpose of this study is to build a structural equation model that predicts the relationship between Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) competencies and digital nativity. The data was collected from 1493 Turkish pre-service teachers. Two instruments were used in the data collection; a TPACK-deep scale and a Turkish adaptation of the Digital Native Assessment Scale (DNAS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to investigate the assumption that digital nativity was a predictor of TPACK competency. It was found that pre-service teachers considered themselves to have high-level ability in both digital nativity and TPACK competency. The most prominent finding of the study was that digital nativity is a significant predictor of TPACK competency. Based on the research findings, implications for practice and suggestions for future studies are also provided.