Digital competence in higher education research: a systematic literature review
Open accessAbstract
In the information and knowledge society, where technology develops rapidly and penetrates deeply into our lives, the discussion about digital competence has become a hot topic today. After the emergence of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and with its huge impact on the education industry, the concern about digital competence has reached a new height. This systematic literature review uses Web of science and Scopus as databases to store and analyze the existing research on digital competence in higher education settings. The purpose of this review is to provide the scholar community with a current overview of digital competence research from 2015 to 2021 in the context of higher education regarding the definition of digital competence, dimensions used to evaluate digital competence, research purposes, methodologies, and results and limitations. Major findings include that the majority of publications cited both research and EU policy in describing the definition of digital competence. The review indicates that most university students and teachers have a basic level of digital competence. Besides, the institutions of higher education are encouraged to focus on the development students and teachers' digital competence, create relevant learning strategies and use appropriate tools to improve the quality of education.
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Gains in faculty digital competence do not necessarily lead to high-quality teaching practice; the crucial issue is whether teachers can create digitally supported instructional designs that are coherently organized around course goals, learning activities, and assessment strategies.
“Research suggests that gains in faculty digital competence do not necessarily lead to high-quality teaching practice; the crucial issue is whether teachers can create digitally supported instructional designs that are coherently organized around course goals, learning activities, and assessment strategies (5–7).”
From Reframing faculty development for digital transformation and generative AI in higher education (2026) · cites this paper as [7]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredResearch on university teachers' digital competence is shifting from whether they can use digital tools to whether they can develop stable, reflective, and transferable digital teaching practices within specific disciplinary and instructional contexts.
“Existing studies show that the focus of research on university teachers’ digital competence is shifting from whether they can use digital tools to whether they can develop stable, reflective, and transferable digital teaching practices within specific disciplinary and instructional contexts (4–7).”
From Reframing faculty development for digital transformation and generative AI in higher education (2026) · cites this paper as [7]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDisciplinary specificity means that technology integration cannot follow a uniform template, and different fields vary substantially in their reliance on simulation, data visualization, collaborative platforms, virtual laboratories, or generative AI.
“Second, disciplinary specificity means that technology integration cannot follow a uniform template, and different fields vary substantially in their reliance on simulation, data visualization, collaborative platforms, virtual laboratories, or generative AI (5–7).”
From Reframing faculty development for digital transformation and generative AI in higher education (2026) · cites this paper as [7]
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“…that gains in faculty digital competence do not necessarily lead to high-quality teaching practice; the crucial issue is whether teachers can create digitally supported instructional designs that are coherently organized around course goals, learning activities, and assessment strategies (5–7).”
- Authors
- Zhao, Y., Pinto Llorente, A. M., & Sánchez Gómez, M. C.
- Affiliations
- Universidad de Salamanca (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Zhao, Yu
- ORCID
- Zhao, Yu
- Venue
- Computers & Education
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-07
- Volume
- 168
- Pages
- 104212
- ISSN
- 0360-1315 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9759745
- OpenAlex
- W3149382904
- Cited by
- 653
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 141 · 2025: 146 · 2024: 133 · 2023: 137 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 22
- FWCI
- 13.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Computers & Education (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Gredos (University of Salamanca) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Hispana (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital literacy in education
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Educational Innovations and Challenges
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
- Keywords
- digital skills, higher education, university students, university faculty, COVID-19 pandemic impact on education, digital learning strategies, educational quality
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