The Relationship Between Digital Literacy and Digital Play Support Competency in Early Childhood Teachers: Mediating Effects of Techno-eustress and Digital Play Teaching Efficacy

Objectives: This study examines the mediating effects of techno-eustress and digital play teaching efficacy on the relationship between digital literacy and digital play support competency among early childhood teachers.Methods: Participants included 254 early childhood teachers from early childhood education institutions. This study used the digital literacy scale developed by Y. Kim (2022). The techno-eustress scale was adapted and translated by the researcher, based on the original scale developed by Nascimento et al. (2024). The digital play teaching efficacy scale was adopted from N. W. Park (2023), and the digital play support competency scale was developed by E. Lee (2021). Teachers’ age and highest level of education were included as control variables, as they may influence the level of digital literacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS 30.0 and AMOS 26.0, employing Cronbach’s ⍺, descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and structural equation modeling (SEM).Results: All correlations among variables were statistically significant. Although the direct effect of early childhood teachers’ digital literacy on digital play support competency was not significant, digital literacy indirectly influenced digital play support competency through digital play teaching efficacy. Furthermore, digital literacy indirectly impacted digital play support competency through sequential pathways involving techno-eustress and digital play teaching efficacy.Conclusion: To enhance early childhood teachers’ digital play support competency, it is essential not only to equip them with digital literacy but also to foster psychological processes that enable them to perceive stress positively and develop strong beliefs in their own teaching efficacy. This study is academically significant because it applies the concept of techno-eustress to the context of early childhood teachers, thereby exploring its potential for theoretical expansion.