Promoting Equality in Education through Students’ Digital Competence Development

According to the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 4, actions that promote inclusive and equitable quality education for all and lifelong learning should be adopted in education target to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity (United Nations Development Programme, 2023). With the rapid development of technology, today’s teaching and learning are undergoing a digital transformation. We proposed the development of students’ digital competency might shed light on SDG 4. Baena-Morales et al. (2020) and Burbules et al. (2020) suggested that the development of digital competence in students facilitates inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning by providing individuals with the ability to use technology for flexible and learner-centered learning experiences. Free online resources also help students to learn according to their own needs and equip them with new knowledge and skills thus providing chances for students to move upstream from their economic circumstances. However, developing the digital competency of students is complicated. It involves a set of variety knowledge, skills and attitudes to effectively utilize digital technology. Therefore, the 82-item DIgCompSAT that covers digital competence in five major areas, including information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving, is used to identify students’ digital competence. 80 students taking a gateway education course participated in the survey voluntarily. They need to complete a survey on a five-point Likert scale to indicate their knowledge and skill level and their attitudes towards different digital technologies. The data is analysed using descriptive analysis, T-Test, ANOVA, etc. to identify areas for improvement. This study serves as a pilot to explore students’ digital competency and the potential areas for improvement. The result will be useful for instructors to understand the digital competency of their students and can be used to support decisions on course content adjustment. We hope that by providing students with the essential digital competency in today’s world, students will be able to learn and equip them with better knowledge and skills to combat poverty.

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