ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
How University Teachers' Digital Literacy Influences Their Innovative Ability: A System Dynamics Theoretical Modeling and Simulation Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics Dongfang College, Hangzhou, China
- 2Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, China
- 3Shandong Management University, Jinan, China
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The global digital transformation is driving profound changes in modern education, with university 9 teachers' digital literacy and innovation capabilities gradually becoming key factors in advancing digital education 10 reform and enhancing a nation's international competitiveness and soft power. Adopting a dynamic perspective, this 11 study abstractly constructs a system dynamics model spanning from the digital ecosystem layer to the psychological 12 capital layer and ultimately to the innovation output layer. By incorporating simulation data, the study integrates 13 teachers' digital literacy, psychological factors, and innovation capabilities into the simulation system to examine the 14 impact of digital literacy on teachers' innovation capacity and reveal its underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate 15 that university teachers' digital literacy strengthens along the dynamic pathway of "psychological capital 16 accumulation—self-efficacy enhancement—well-being improvement—cognitive closure reduction." Psychological 17 factors such as teachers' self-efficacy, flow experience intensity, and well-being play significant mediating roles, while 18 institutional technical support further reinforces this pathway. Notably, when digital technology complexity reaches 19 extremely high levels, teachers' flow experience intensity drops to its lowest point around the 0.5-period mark, 20 exhibiting a "U"-shaped curve. On one hand, this study addresses gaps in existing research by analyzing the dynamic 21 mechanisms through which teachers' digital literacy influences innovation capabilities, overcoming the limitations of 22 traditional static theories. On the other hand, it strengthens the digital knowledge framework for teachers and deepens 23 the practical application of dynamic systems theory in educational transformation.
Keywords: University teachers, Digital Literacy, Innovation ability, system dynamics, Psychological Capital
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mao, Tong, Jiang, Yan and Bai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chao Jiang
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