Evaluation of pre-service teachers’ digital skills and ICT competencies in context of the demands of the 21st century

Aigul Y. Niyazova 1 * , Alexey A. Chistyakov 2, Nonna Y. Volosova 3, Julia A. Krokhina 4, Natalia L. Sokolova 2, Svetlana E. Chirkina 5
More Detail
1 Department of Foreign Language Theory and Practice, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, KAZAKHSTAN
2 Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, RUSSIA
3 Orenburg State University, Orenburg, RUSSIA
4 Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, RUSSIA
5 Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kazan, RUSSIA
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: e202337. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13355
OPEN ACCESS   2241 Views   1569 Downloads   Published online: 07 Jun 2023
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

21st century has seen the emergence of digital skills as a crucial ability with profound effects on employment, education, and social relationships, among other facets of life. The best talents to teach are the subject of study by those who establish educational policies. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between information and communication technology competency (ICTC) and digital abilities. It focuses on which of the digital skills sub-dimensions has a greater impact on ICTC and how this impact varies by country, age, and gender. This study employed a quantitative research design to evaluate the association between ICTC and various digital skills. The sample group consisted of 620 university students from Russia and Kazakhstan. Digital skills were measured using a scale adapted for the Russian context, while ICTC scale was first adapted for the Russian context following language validity steps. The study also conducted path analysis to determine the impact of ICTC on digital skill dimensions and multigroup path analysis to assess effects according to different independent variables. The study found that certain dimensions of digital skills, specifically “use of digital tools”, “communication of digital content”, and “creation of digital content”, significantly influence ICTC. However, “management of digital content”, “digital security”, and “digital empathy” dimensions did not show a significant effect. The impact of these dimensions varied significantly across different demographic groups, suggesting that digital skills and ICTC development may differ among these groups. The findings highlight the need for tailored strategies to develop and promote digital skills and ICTC, considering these demographic differences.
Keywords: digital skills, ICT competencies, path analysis

CITATION

Niyazova, A. Y., Chistyakov, A. A., Volosova, N. Y., Krokhina, J. A., Sokolova, N. L., & Chirkina, S. E. (2023). Evaluation of pre-service teachers’ digital skills and ICT competencies in context of the demands of the 21st century. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 13(3), e202337. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13355

REFERENCES

  • Abbasova, L. I., Zotova, I. V., & Mustafaeva, Z. I. (2021). The technology of formation of future teachers’ information culture. SHS Web of Conferences, 113, 00051. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111300051
  • Ahmad, M., Karim, A. A., Din, R., & Albakri, I. S. M. A. (2013). Assessing ICT competencies among postgraduate students based on the 21st century ICT competency model. Asian Social Science, 9(16 SPL), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n16p32
  • Ally, M. (2019). Competency profile of the digital and online teacher in future education. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 20(2), 302-318. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i2.4206
  • Antonietti, C., Cattaneo, A., & Amenduni, F. (2022). Can teachers’ digital competence influence technology acceptance in vocational education? Computers in Human Behavior, 132, 107266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107266
  • Aslan, A., & Zhu, C. (2017). Investigating variables predicting Turkish pre-service teachers’ integration of ICT into teaching practices. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(2), 552-570. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12437
  • Ata, R., & Yildirim, K. (2019). Exploring Turkish pre-service teachers’ perceptions and views of digital literacy. Education Sciences, 9(1), 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010040
  • Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine, 25(4), 3186-3191. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200012150-00014
  • Bhattarai, L. N. (2019). ICT integrated pedagogy in a multicultural classroom: Experiences of mathematics teacher. Interdisciplinary Research in Education, 4(1), 9-18. https://doi.org/10.3126/ire.v4i1.25706
  • Braslauskienė, R., Šmitienė, G., & Vismantienė, R. (2017). Primary school teachers’ approach to advantages of ICT use in education. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 3, 439. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2017vol3.2241
  • Braun, M., Schubert, J., Pfleging, B., & Alt, F. (2019). Improving driver emotions with affective strategies. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 3(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/mti3010021
  • Brown, J., McLennan, C., Mercieca, D., Mercieca, D. P., Robertson, D. P., & Valentine, E. (2021). Technology as third space: Teachers in Scottish schools engaging with and being challenged by digital technology in first COVID-19 lockdown. Education Sciences, 11(3), 136. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030136
  • Chen, F., Gorbunova, N. V., Masalimova, A. R., & Bírová, J. (2017). Formation of ICT-competence of future university schoolteachers. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(8), 4765-4777. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00963a
  • de Silva, W. A., & Costa, F. A. (2022). Digital skills in initial teacher training in Portugal. Educacao & Formacao [Education and Training], 7(2), 1-16.
  • Díaz, J. B., Vinagre, T., & Nicolas-Sans, R. (2021). University teaching planning in times of COVID-19: Analysis of the Catalan context and proposal for a future model from ESIC business and marketing school experience. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(11), 5936. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115936
  • Falloon, G. (2020). From digital literacy to digital competence: The teacher digital competency (TDC) framework. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(5), 2449-2472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09767-4
  • Fan, C., & Wang, J. (2022). Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure digital skills of Chinese undergraduates. Sustainability, 14(6), 3539. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063539
  • García-Martín, J., & García-Sánchez, J. N. (2017). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the competence dimensions of digital literacy and of psychological and educational measures. Computers and Education, 107, 54-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.010
  • Gibbs, P., & Sagrista, M. R. (2020). Digital skills at Divine Word University, Papua New Guinea. IAFOR Journal of Education: Technology in Education, 8(2), 107-124. https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.8.2.06
  • Gómez-Trigueros, I. M., Ruiz-Bañuls, M., & Ortega-Sánchez, D. (2019). Digital literacy of teachers in training: Moving from ICTs (information and communication technologies) to LKTs (learning and knowledge technologies). Education Sciences, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9040274
  • Guillén-Gámez, F. D., Lugones, A., Mayorga-Fernández, M. J., & Wang, S. (2019). ICT use by pre-service foreign languages teachers according to gender, age and motivation. Cogent Education, 6(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1574693
  • Gutiérrez-Esteban, P., Alonso-Díaz, L., Smyrnova-Trybulska, E., Capay, M., Ogrodzka-Mazur, E., Pinto, P. J. G., Noskova, T., Gajdzica, A., Pavlova, T., & Yakovleva, O. (2016). Intercultural and digital competence in teacher training from an international perspective: Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Russia. Revista Latinoamericana de Tecnología Educativa [Latin American Magazine of Educational Technology], 15(3), 141-154. https://doi.org/10.17398/1695-288X.14.1.145
  • Hatos, A., Cosma, M. L., & Clipa, O. (2022). Self-assessed digital competences of Romanian teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810359
  • Huda, I., Yulisman, H., Evtia Nurina, C. I., Erni, F., & Abdullah, D. (2018). Investigating pre-service teachers about their competencies, experiences, and attitudes towards technology integration. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1114(1), 012033. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1114/1/012033
  • Kaarakainen, M. T., Kivinen, O., & Vainio, T. (2018). Performance-based testing for ICT skills assessing: A case study of students and teachers’ ICT skills in Finnish schools. Universal Access in the Information Society, 17(2), 349-360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0553-9
  • Karaseva, A., Siibak, A., & Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, P. (2015). Relationships between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, subject cultures, and mediation practices of students’ use of digital technology. Cyberpsychology, 9(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2015-1-6
  • Kivunja, C. (2014). Do you want your students to be job-ready with 21st century skills? Change pedagogies: A pedagogical paradigm shift from Vygotskyian social constructivism to critical thinking, problem solving and Siemens’ digital connectivism. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(3), 81-91. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n3p81
  • Kryukova, N. I., Chistyakov, A. A., Shulga, T. I., Omarova, L. B., Tkachenko, T. V., Malakhovsky, A. K., & Babieva, N. S. (2022). Adaptation of higher education students’ digital skills survey to Russian universities. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(11), em2183. https://doi.org/10.29333/EJMSTE/12558
  • Kumara, S. (2020). Information and communication technology use in education. Asian Journal of Development Matters, 14(2), 14-23. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-4674.2020.00007.5
  • Le, A. V., Do, D. L., Pham, D. Q., Hoang, P. H., Duong, T. H., Nguyen, H. N., Vuong, T. T., Nguyen, H. K. T., Ho, M. T., La, V. P., & Vuong, Q. H. (2019). Exploration of youth’s digital competencies: A dataset in the educational context of Vietnam. Data, 4(2), 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/data4020069
  • Manco-Chavez, J. A., Uribe-Hernandez, Y. C., Buendia-Aparcana, R., Vertiz-Osores, J. J., Alcoser, S. D. I., & Rengifo-Lozano, R. A. (2020). Integration of ICTs and digital skills in times of the pandemic COVID-19. International Journal of Higher Education, 9(9), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v9n9p11
  • Martzoukou, K., Kostagiolas, P., Lavranos, C., Lauterbach, T., & Fulton, C. (2021). A study of university law students’ self-perceived digital competences. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(4), 751-769. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211048004
  • McGarr, O., & McDonagh, A. (2021). Exploring the digital competence of pre-service teachers on entry onto an initial teacher education program in Ireland. Irish Educational Studies, 40(1), 115-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2020.1800501
  • Merchan-Lima, J., Astudillo-Salinas, F., Tello-Oquendo, L., Sanchez, F., Lopez-Fonseca, G., & Quiroz, D. (2021). Information security management frameworks and strategies in higher education institutions: A systematic review. Annales des Telecommunications/Annals of Telecommunications, 76(3-4), 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12243-020-00783-2
  • Mirķe, E., Cakula, S., & Tzivian, L. (2019). Measuring teachers-as-learners’ digital skills and readiness to study online for successful e-learning experience. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 21(2), 5-16. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2019-0013
  • Pozas, M., & Letzel, V. (2021). “Do you think you have what it takes?”–Exploring predictors of pre-service teachers’ prospective ICT use. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 28(2), 823-841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-021-09551-0
  • Rojo-Ramos, J., Carlos-Vivas, J., Manzano-Redondo, F., Fernández-Sánchez, M. R., Rodilla-Rojo, J., García-Gordillo, M. Á., & Adsuar, J. C. (2020). Study of the digital teaching competence of physical education teachers in primary schools in one region of Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238822
  • Shonfeld, M., Cotnam-Kappel, M., Judge, M., Ng, C. Y., Ntebutse, J. G., Williamson-Leadley, S., & Yildiz, M. N. (2021). Learning in digital environments: A model for cross-cultural alignment. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69(4), 2151-2170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-09967-6
  • Siddiq, F., Scherer, R., & Tondeur, J. (2016). Teachers’ emphasis on developing students’ digital information and communication skills (TEDDICS): A new construct in 21st century education. Computers and Education, 92-93, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.10.006
  • Terry, C., & Cain, J. (2016). The emerging issue of digital empathy. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(4), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe80458
  • Tomczyk, Ł., Fedeli, L., Włoch, A., Limone, P., Frania, M., Guarini, P., Szyszka, M., Mascia, M. L., & Falkowska, J. (2022). Digital competences of pre-service teachers in Italy and Poland. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 28, 651-681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-022-09626-6
  • Tondeur, J., Aesaert, K., Prestridge, S., & Consuegra, E. (2018). A multilevel analysis of what matters in the training of pre-service teacher’s ICT competencies. Computers and Education, 122, 32-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.03.002
  • Tondeur, J., Aesaert, K., Pynoo, B., Braak, J., Fraeyman, N., & Erstad, O. (2017). Developing a validated instrument to measure preservice teachers’ ICT competencies: Meeting the demands of the 21st century. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(2), 462-472. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12380
  • Torres Kompen, R., Edirisingha, P., Canaleta, X., Alsina, M., & Monguet, J. M. (2019). Personal learning Environments based on Web 2.0 services in higher education. Telematics and Informatics, 38, 194-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.10.003
  • Toto, G. A., & Limone, P. (2021). From resistance to digital technologies in the context of the reaction to distance learning in the school context during COVID-19. Education Sciences, 11(4), 163. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11040163
  • Vajen, B., Kenner, S., & Reichert, F. (2023). Digital citizenship education–Teachers’ perspectives and practices in Germany and Hong Kong. Teaching and Teacher Education, 122, 103972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103972
  • van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2015). Internet skill levels increase, but gaps widen: A longitudinal cross-sectional analysis (2010-2013) among the Dutch population. Information Communication and Society, 18(7), 782-797. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2014.994544
  • van Laar, E., van Deursen, A. J. A. M., van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & de Haan, J. (2017). The relation between 21st century skills and digital skills: A systematic literature review. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.010
  • van Laar, E., van Deursen, A. J. A. M., van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & de Haan, J. (2020). Determinants of 21st century skills and 21st century digital skills for workers: A systematic literature review. SAGE Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019900176
  • Willems, J., Farley, H., & Campbell, C. (2019). The increasing significance of digital equity in higher education: An introduction to the digital equity special issue. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 35(6), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.5996
  • Youssef, A. Ben, Dahmani, M., & Ragni, L. (2022). ICT use, digital skills and students’ academic performance: Exploring the digital divide. Information (Switzerland), 13(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13030129
  • Yu, H., & Hu, J. (2022). ICT self-efficacy and ICT interest mediate the gender differences in digital reading: A multilevel serial mediation analysis. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 17(5), 211-225. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i05.25691
  • Zeidmane, A., & Vintere, A. (2021). A case study of students’ views on the digital skills needed for the labor market. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (pp. 163-169). https://doi.org/10.33965/celda2021_202108l020