Exploring Digital Literacy Skills in Social Sciences and Humanities Students

Ana Iolanda Vodă, Cristina Cautisanu, Camelia Grădinaru, Chris Tănăsescu and Gustavo Herminio Salati Marcondes de Moraes
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Ana Iolanda Vodă: Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 700057 Iasi, Romania
Cristina Cautisanu: CERNESIM Environmental Research Center, Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, Romania
Camelia Grădinaru: Departament of Communication Sciences and Public Relations, Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași, 700505 Iasi, Romania
Chris Tănăsescu: Faculté de Philosophie, Arts et Lettres, Institut des Civilisations, Arts et Lettres, UCLouvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Gustavo Herminio Salati Marcondes de Moraes: School of Applied Sciences, University of Campinas, Limeira 13484-350, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-31

Abstract: Digital literacy is among the mandatory abilities to any higher education level and represents a fundamental ingredient in successful professionalization. Considering the deep penetration of digital technologies in everyday life, digital literacy offers a set of transversal skills that could improve a whole area of activities, from banking operations to civic participation. However, these skills are diverse and vary according to the development of technologies and society. This study fills an important academic gap on digital literacy by placing it in a specific and well-defined context, analyzing different perspectives that involve such learning, such as predictors of digital literacy in different types of students. In addition, research increases its importance as it is being developed during the pandemic, a period characterized by accelerated technological use and sudden changes. This research used a quantitative design based on the answers to a questionnaire conducted from March 2021 to May 2021. From a methodological perspective, we tested several hypotheses using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the structural equation model (SEM). The results show that communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and technical digital skills are more present in the case of students enrolled in social sciences, while other digital skills (i.e., creativity and information) are more prevalent in the case of humanities students. Moreover, the results showed that, except for creativity and problem-solving-related digital skills, all of the digital skills were significantly influenced by students’ different levels of education.

Keywords: digital literacy; digital skills; COVID-19; education level; digital course enrolment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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