Development and validation of students’ digital competence scale (SDiCoS)

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 30 - 20
• Main Authors: Tzafilkou, Katerina, Perifanou, Maria, Economides, A. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 16.05.2022; BioMed Central, Ltd; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Adult Basic Education; Adult learning; Adult Students; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Digital competence; Digital literacy; Digital skills; Distance Education; Distance learning; Educational evaluation; Educational Technology; Electronic devices; Electronic Learning; Factor Analysis; Graduate Students; Higher Education; Humanities; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Law; Measures (Individuals); Reliability aspects; Research Article; Scale development; Skills; Statistics for Social Sciences; Technological Literacy; Test Construction; Test Validity; Twenty-first century skills; Undergraduate Students; University students; Validated Programs; Adult learning; Twenty-first century skills; Digital competence; Scale development; Digital skills
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-022-00330-0

Towards the transition to blended and remote education, evaluating the levels of students’ digital competence and designing educational programs to advance them is of paramount importance. Existing validated digital competence scales usually ignore either important digital skills needed or new socio-technological innovations. This study proposes and validates a comprehensive digital competence scale for students in higher education. The suggested instrument includes skills of online learning and collaboration, social media, smart and mobile devices, safety, and data protection. The scale was evaluated on a sample of 156 undergraduate and postgraduate students just before and at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The final scale is composed of 28 items and six digital competence components. The evaluation study revealed valid results in terms of model fit criteria, factor loadings, internal validity, and reliability. Individual factors like the students’ field of study, computer experience and age revealed significant associations to the scale components, while gender revealed no significant differences. The suggested scale can be useful to the design of new actions and policies towards remote education and the digital skills’ development of adult learners.