From Digital Literacy to Computational Thinking in Economics Education: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulated Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33394/jk.v12i3.20472Keywords:
Computational Thinking, Digital Literacy, Self-Regulated Learning, Economics EducationAbstract
This study aims to examine the effect of digital literacy (DL) on students’ computational thinking (CT) in Economics Education, with self-regulated learning (SRL) serving as a key explanatory factor. A quantitative explanatory survey design was employed with 210 junior high school students from North Sulawesi and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, who were selected through proportional sampling. Data were collected using Likert-scale questionnaires measuring DL, SRL, and CT and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and univariate linear regression. The results showed that DL significantly predicted SRL (β = 0.75, p < .001) and CT (β = 0.71, p < .001), while SRL significantly predicted CT (β = 0.76, p < .001). The significant direct relationship between DL and CT, together with the significant relationships between DL and SRL and between SRL and CT, suggests that SRL may play an explanatory role in the relationship between DL and CT. Because the direct relationship between DL and CT remained significant, the relationship was not fully accounted for by SRL. These findings highlight the importance of integrating digital literacy with SRL strategies, including goal setting, learning monitoring, strategy use, and self-evaluation, to support the development of students’ computational thinking skills in Economics Education.
References
Acevedo-Borrega, J., Valverde-Berrocoso, J., & Garrido-Arroyo, M. D. C. (2022). Computational Thinking and Educational Technology: A Scoping Review of the Literature. Education Sciences, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12010039
Akiba, D. (2022). Computational Thinking and Coding for Young Children: A Hybrid Approach to Link Unplugged and Plugged Activities. Education Sciences, 12(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110793
Anderson, N. D. (2016). A Call for Computational Thinking in Undergraduate Psychology. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 15(3), 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725716659252
Archer, F., & Sterling, H. V. (2024). Digital Transformation in Global Education: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century. Proceeding of the International Conference on Global Education and Learning, (1), 3089–8072. https://prosiding.aripi.or.id/index.php/ICGEL
Bocconi, S., Chioccariello, A., Kampylis, P., Dagienė, V., Wastiau, P., Engelhardt, K., Earp, J., Horvath, M., Jasutė, E., Malagoli, C., Masiulionytė-Dagienė, V., & Stupurienė, G. (2019). State of play and practices from computing education Reviewing Computational Thinking in Compulsory Education. https://epublications.vu.lt/object/elaba:124209087/%0Ahttps://epublications.vu.lt/object/elaba:124209087/124209087.pdf
Broadbent, J., Panadero, E., Lodge, J. M., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2023). The self-regulation for learning online (SRL-O) questionnaire. Metacognition and Learning, 18(1), 135–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-022-09319-6
Celik, I. (2023). Exploring the Determinants of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy: Digital Divide, Computational Thinking, Cognitive Absorption. Telematics and Informatics, 83(October 2022), 102026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2023.102026
Chen, F. (2025). The relationship between digital literacy and college students ’ academic achievement : the chain mediating role of learning adaptation and online self-regulated learning. (July). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1590649
Fagerlund, J., Häkkinen, P., Vesisenaho, M., & Viiri, J. (2021). Computational thinking in programming with Scratch in primary schools: A systematic review. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 29(1), 12–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.22255
Fei, J., Dong, S., & Fei, D. (2025). Computational thinking in complex problem solving based on data analysis: exploring the role of problem representation using the Tower of Hanoi. Advances in Continuous and Discrete Models, 2025(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13662-025-03866-3
Global Education Monitoring Report Team. (2023). The state of education in a digital world.
Gümüş, M. M., Kukul, V., & Korkmaz, Ö. (2024). Relationships between Middle School Students’ Digital Literacy Skills, Computer Programming Self-efficacy, and Computational Thinking Self-efficacy. Informatics in Education, 23(3), 571–592. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2024.20
Ji, W., & Wong, G. K. W. (2025). Integrating problem-based learning and computational thinking: cultivating creative thinking in primary education. Frontiers in Education, 10(September), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1625105
Kim, H. S., Kim, S., Na, W., & Lee, W. J. (2021). Extending Computational Thinking into Information and Communication Technology Literacy Measurement. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1145/3427596
Li, F., Cheng, L., Wang, X., Shen, L., Ma, Y., & Islam, A. Y. M. A. (2025). students ’ academic achievement : a meta-analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04399-6
Liu, L., Wang, S., & Gui, J. (2025). Information literacy of higher vocational college students in digital age. (248). https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006231224445
Liu, Y. (2024). Analyzing the Impact of the Digital Divide on Individuals, Families, and Society: A Technological Perspective. Journal of Applied Economics and Policy Studies, 14(1), 44–51. https://doi.org/10.54254/2977-5701/2024.18281
Maddatuang, Bahri, A., & Tabbu, M. A. S. (2025). the Impact of Digital Literacy and Disaster Mitigation Understanding on Computational and Spatial Thinking Ability in Upper Secondary School Students. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 24(2), 312–325. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/25.24.312
Markandan, N., Osman, K., & Halim, L. (2022). Integrating Computational Thinking and Empowering Metacognitive Awareness in Stem Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(June), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.872593
Mee, R. W. M., Yob, F. S. C., Pek, L. S., Abd Rauf, M. F., Mingmei, Y., & Derahvasht, A. (2025). Building digital thinkers: A bibliometric analysis of computational thinking in children’s education for a sustainable future. Contemporary Educational Technology, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/16309
Mejeh, M., Sarbach, L., & Hascher, T. (2024). Effects of adaptive feedback through a digital tool – a mixed-methods study on the course of self-regulated learning. In Education and Information Technologies (Vol. 29, Number 14). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12510-8
Nirmala, P., Suhardi, I., Kaswar, A. B., Surianto, D. F., & Lavicza, Z. (2024). Online Learning in Educational Research. 5(1), 9–24.
OECD. (2023a). PISA 2022 assessment and analytical framework. In OECD Publishing.
OECD. (2023b). PISA 2022 Results The State of Learning and Equity in Education. In Factsheets: I. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/educstion/pisa-2022-results-volume-i_53f23881-en
Panadero, E. (2017). A review of self-regulated learning: Six models and four directions for research. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(APR), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00422
Riswanto, R., Hidayatullah Alarifin, D., & Hidayat, A. (2025). Exploring the Role of Digital Literacy as a Predictor of Self-Regulated Learning in Physics Education. Jurnal Pendidikan Fisika, 13(3), 308–328. https://doi.org/10.26618/ghc8bt46
Rusdi, R., Ristanto, R. H., Prabowo, G. O., & Sarwono, E. (2023). Self-regulated Learning and Digital Literacy: Relationship with Conceptual Understanding of Excretory System. Journal of Science Learning, 6(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.17509/jsl.v6i1.47269
Schlauch, M., Sylla, C., & Gil, M. (2025). More than words: Conceptualizing narrative computational thinking based on a multicase study. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 43(November 2024), 100704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2024.100704
Shute, V. J., Sun, C., & Asbell-Clarke, J. (2017a). Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review, 22, 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003
Shute, V. J., Sun, C., & Asbell-Clarke, J. (2017b). Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review, 22, 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003
Siddiq, F., Olofsson, A. D., Lindberg, J. O., & Tomczyk, L. (2024). Special issue: What will be the new normal? Digital competence and 21st-century skills: critical and emergent issues in education. Education and Information Technologies, 29(6), 7697–7705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12067-y
van Laar, E., van Deursen, A. J. A. M., van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & de Haan, J. (2020). Determinants of 21st-Century Skills and 21st-Century Digital Skills for Workers: A Systematic Literature Review. SAGE Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019900176
Voogt, J., Fisser, P., Good, J., Mishra, P., & Yadav, A. (2015). Computational thinking in compulsory education: Towards an agenda for research and practice. Education and Information Technologies, 20(4), 715–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9412-6
Wing, J. M. (2019). A Conversation about Computational Thinking. Education Future Frontiers, NSW Department of Education, 1–10. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/education-for-a-changing-world/media/documents/Computational-Conversation_1_A.pdf
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License and Publishing Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities tacitly or explicitly of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and publishing agreement.
Copyright
Authors who publish with JK agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Licensing for Data Publication
-
Open Data Commons Attribution License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/ (default)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






