This research examines the direct effects of pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) levels on the instruction of twenty-first-century teaching skills and the indirect effects mediated by digital literacy. The research was conducted using a cross-sectional survey design and involved 468 fourth-year students from the education faculties of two universities in Turkey. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that TPACK has both a direct and an indirect effect, mediated by digital literacy, on pre-service teachers’ competencies in twenty-first-century teaching skills. It was found that digital literacy partially mediates this relationship. The analysis revealed that the direct effect of TPACK on competencies in teaching twenty-first-century skills was β = 0.39 ( p < 0.01), while the indirect effect mediated by digital literacy was calculated as β = 0.28 ( p < 0.01). Digital literacy accounts for 56% of the total effect of TPACK on teaching competencies. These findings underscore the significant contribution of both TPACK and digital literacy in pre-service teachers’ effective instruction of twenty-first-century skills. Based on these results, the study offers several recommendations for teacher education processes.

Digital literacy encompasses the skills needed to effectively navigate and use the digital tools and resources that are essential in today's educational landscape. Students with higher levels of digital literacy often demonstrate self-directed learning skills, enabling them to manage their study schedules and submit assignments in a timely and effective manner. Integrating digital literacy with preparation for self-directed learning is critical to fostering successful online learning experiences. Research into the impact of students' digital literacy and readiness for online learning on their self-directed learning is crucial to understanding the competencies and skills required for online education. Such competencies in learners may have unique effects, especially in specific online learning processes such as emergency remote teaching. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential impact of students' digital literacy on their self-directed online learning, with a particular focus on their online learning readiness. In line with the purpose of the study, a cross-sectional survey design was employed, using a structural equation modeling approach. The results showed that digital literacy has a direct and positive effect on online learning readiness. In addition, online learning readiness has a direct and positive influence on self-directed online learning. The results also highlighted that digital literacy indirectly and positively influences individuals' levels of self-directed online learning through their online learning readiness.

How learning-centered leadership influences learning schools, and the effect of teacher performance on building learning schools is an area that remains unclear. The study aims to investigate the effect of learning-centered leadership on learning schools from teachers’ perspectives. In the cross-sectional study, survey data were collected from 284 teachers in 50K-12 schools in Elazig, Türkiye. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping method were used to analyze the data. Data analysis revealed that learning-centered leadership elicited direct and indirect effects on building learning schools and that teacher performance was a mediator in this relationship. Results contribute to the body of research that confirms the role of learning-centered leadership in the emergence of learning schools that also enables school improvement and effectiveness and highlights the importance of reflecting on this relationship.