Design and Validation of a Conceptual Model for Media Literacy-Based Virtual Education in Cyberspace: A Novel Approach to Teaching Biology in Iraq’s Educational System

Abstract

The aim of this study is to design and validate a conceptual model for virtual education based on media literacy in cyberspace in order to enhance the quality of biology instruction within the Iraqi educational system. Utilizing a qualitative approach and the descriptive phenomenological method, the study explored the lived experiences of biology teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 experienced teachers in Wasit Province and analyzed using thematic analysis and coding. The findings led to the identification of three main dimensions (pedagogical, technological, and supportive), eleven components, and 65 indicators that define the conceptual structure of media literacy-based virtual education in biology instruction. In the subsequent phase, the validity of the proposed model was evaluated through qualitative methods such as participant feedback, expert confirmation, and thematic coherence analysis. The results indicate that the purposeful integration of media literacy into virtual education can enhance students’ learning skills, critical thinking, and engagement, while also mitigating conceptual and technological challenges in science teaching, particularly in educational contexts with structural limitations such as Iraq. The proposed model holds practical applicability in curriculum design, professional development of teachers, and the creation of multimedia instructional content, and may serve as an effective framework for improving virtual education in other countries with similar cultural and infrastructural conditions.