Differences in Digital Citizenship by Elementary School Students’ Individual Variables and Internet Self-efficacy

This study aimed to analyze the impact of gender, grade level, and internet self-efficacy on digital citizenship among elementary school students.A survey was conducted with 140 students in grades 4 to 6 at an elementary school in the metropolitan area, and data from 123 students who responded sincerely were used for the final analysis.To examine differences in digital citizenship based on gender, grade level, and internet self-efficacy, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and MANOVA were performed.The key findings are as follows.First, female students scored significantly higher in overall digital citizenship than male students, outperforming male students in four out of six sub-areas.Second, an analysis of grade-level differences revealed that students in grades 5 and 6 scored higher in digital citizenship than those in grades 4. In particular, students in grade 6 showed significantly higher scores than those in grade 4 in five sub-areas.Third, regarding differences based on internet self-efficacy levels, students in the top 25% (Group 4) scored significantly higher than those in the bottom 25% (Group 1) overall digital citizenship and its sub-areas.This study is significant because it provides fundamental data for fostering digital citizenship among elementary school students.