Decoding digital empowerment: Key factors and practical mechanisms in teaching decisions-A grounded theory study

The rise of educational informatization underscores the crucial role of digital technology in empowering teachers’ decision-making processes. Understanding this empowerment’s essence, process, and mechanism is critical for educational development. This study employs grounded theory, using semi-structured interviews with 23 teachers from different universities worldwide. Through three levels of coding, a theoretical model of digital empowerment in teaching decision-making was constructed, revealing key factors and practical mechanism. The study identified five key factors: environmental factors, technological conditions, student development, teaching efficacy, and teacher qualifications. These factors function independently and interactively, influencing decision-making. Teachers, as the main agents, need to combine external environmental factors and technological conditions with their willingness to ensure teaching decisions meet both developmental and institutional needs, demonstrating feasibility and compatibility. This study enhances the understanding of the internal mechanism of digital empowerment in teaching decision-making, improving the theoretical framework and providing guidance for university teachers to better use digital tools.