The Relationship Between the Perceived Digital Competency and Critical Thinking Instructional Skills of Social Studies Teachers in the Philippine Public Senior High Schools

Abstract

This study investigated whether senior high school Social Studies teachers’ perceived digital competencies predict their perceived critical thinking instructional skills. Conducted in the Schools Division of Region 3, Philippines, the study employed a predictive-correlational research design. A total of 160 senior high school Social Studies teachers from across the four congressional districts of the Schools Division of Region 3 participated, selected through district quota sampling with eligibility-based screening. Data were collected using a validated survey instrument measuring five domains of digital competencies (based on DigComp 2.2) and five dimensions of critical thinking instructional skills. Findings revealed that senior high school Social Studies teachers demonstrated high levels of perceived digital competencies across all domains and very high competence in implementing critical thinking instructional skills. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that perceived digital competencies, when combined, significantly predict critical thinking instructional skills, explaining 42% of the variance (R2 = 0.42). These findings are particularly relevant to Social Studies education, wherein teachers are uniquely positioned to integrate digital tools in facilitating evidence-based discussions, critical inquiry, and the analysis of complex social, political, and economic issues. Among the domains, problem-solving retained the largest unique predictive contribution in the simultaneous regression model (B = 0.329, p = 0.006). The non-significance of the remaining four domains in the simultaneous model should be interpreted cautiously, as it likely reflects the substantial shared variance among the five domains — a consequence of multicollinearity — rather than true pedagogical irrelevance. These findings suggest that digital competency, considered collectively, is a meaningful predictor of critical thinking instructional skills, and that problem-solving most distinctively contributes to this relationship among the five domains. The study concludes that digital competence, particularly problem-solving, is integral to enhancing critical thinking pedagogy in Social Studies. These findings provide empirical support for targeted professional development initiatives that strengthen senior high school Social Studies teachers’ problem-solving skills and promote the pedagogical integration of digital technologies to improve higher-order thinking instruction.