Pedagogical Innovation to Enhance Ethics Literacy of Pre-service Teachers within the Post Digital Citizenship Context

Abstract

This research aimed to: (1) investigate the existing problems, needs, and theoretical foundations related to ethics literacy among pre-service teachers within the context of post-digital citizenship; (2) develop a pedagogical innovation to enhance ethics literacy; and (3) evaluate its effectiveness. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) methodology consisting of four phases: investigating needs and theoretical foundations, developing the innovation, implementing the innovation, and evaluating its effectiveness. Participants included 266 individuals comprising key informants, experts, pre-service teachers, and stakeholders involved in teacher education. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, expert evaluations, ethics literacy assessments, and satisfaction surveys. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers perceived a high need for ethics literacy development in response to the challenges of the post-digital era. The pedagogical innovation developed through the 5E Approach consisted of four instructional units: Exploring, Ethical Reasoning, Enacting Responsibility, and Embedding Findings. Expert evaluation indicated that the innovation demonstrated high levels of appropriateness, feasibility, and usefulness. Following implementation, participants showed a high level
of ethics literacy across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. In addition, overall satisfaction with the innovation was at a high level. The study concludes that the proposed pedagogical innovation effectively enhances ethics literacy among pre-service teachers and provides a practical framework for integrating ethical learning into teacher education within post-digital citizenship contexts