The Effects of Teachers' Digital Literacy and Transformational Leadership of School Principals on Teachers’ Innovative Teaching Behavior with ICT Mediated by Teacher Engagement

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the factors affecting teachers' innovative behavior with ICT in the Covid-19 situation, and to provide theoretical and practical implications of teachers' innovative behavior using ICT such as online education. Methods: For this purpose, the structural relationship between teachers' digital literacy, school principal's transformational leadership, teacher engagement, and teachers' innovative behavior with ICT was verified. Data collected from 639 elementary, middle and high school teachers nationwide were analyzed by applying the structural equation model. Results: First, digital literacy and the teacher engagement of teachers had a direct and significant effect on innovative behavior with ICT, but the principal's transformational leadership did not have a significant effect on innovative behavior with ICT. Second, the teacher's digital literacy and the principal's transformational leadership had a direct and significant effect on teacher engagement. Third, as a result of verification of the mediating effect of teacher engagement, it was verified that teacher engagement had a mediating effect in the relationship between the digital literacy of teachers and innovative behavior with ICT, and the transformational leadership of the principal and innovative behavior with ICT. In particular, in the relationship between the principal's transformational leadership and innovative behavior with ICT, teacher engagement had a full mediating effect. Conclusion: Teachers' digital literacy and principal's transformative leadership were confirmed to possess direct and indirect factors affecting teachers' innovative behavior with ICT. Teacher engagement plays an important role in the relationship between relevant factors and teachers' innovative behavior with ICT, and it is necessary to consider ways to enhance teacher engagement in order to improve teachers' innovative behavior with ICT.