The Impact of Nursery Teachers’ Digital Literacy on the Quality of Responsive Caregiving: The Mediating Role of AI-Assisted Observation Self-Efficacy

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-733-0_5How to use a DOI?

Keywords

nursery teachers; digital literacy; AI-assisted observation self-efficacy; responsive caregiving; early childcare

Abstract

This study examined whether nursery teachers’ digital literacy predicts the quality of responsive caregiving in technology-enhanced childcare settings and whether AI-assisted observation self-efficacy mediates this relationship. In contemporary nursery institutions, intelligent observation systems, digital records and data-based feedback tools are increasingly embedded in daily care routines. Under such conditions, teachers are expected not only to operate digital tools but also to translate digital information into sensitive, timely, and developmentally appropriate responses to infants’ and toddlers’ cues. A total of 346 nursery teachers from institutions in Beijing and surrounding areas who routinely used intelligent observation systems participated in the survey. Digital literacy was measured with a revised 15-item scale, AI-assisted observation self-efficacy with a 12-item adapted scale, and responsive caregiving quality with a 12-item self-report measure derived from the CLASS Infant and Toddler frameworks. All measures demonstrated acceptable reliability and construct validity. Correlational analyses indicated that digital literacy, AI-assisted observation self-efficacy, and responsive caregiving quality were positively associated. Mediation analysis using PROCESS Model 4, controlling for age and years of teaching experience, showed that digital literacy positively predicted AI-assisted observation self-efficacy, which in turn positively predicted responsive caregiving quality. The indirect effect was significant and accounted for 36.4% of the total effect, indicating partial mediation. These findings suggest that digital literacy functions not only as a technical competence but also as a professional resource that helps nursery teachers use AI-supported observation to strengthen responsive caregiving. The study extends research on teacher digital competence from instructional outcomes to caregiving quality and highlights the importance of combining digital-skills training with efficacy-building support in nursery digitalization.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yousong Hu
AU  - Yi Ma
AU  - Yaxin Xiao
AU  - Shan Ling
AU  - Min Cheng
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/17
TI  - The Impact of Nursery Teachers’ Digital Literacy on the Quality of Responsive Caregiving: The Mediating Role of AI-Assisted Observation Self-Efficacy
BT  - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Internet, Education and Information Technology (IEIT 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 28
EP  - 38
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-733-0_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-733-0_5
ID  - Hu2026
ER  -