Strengthening Sustainable Higher Education with Digital Technologies: Development and Validation of a Digital Competence Scale for University Teachers (DCS-UT)

Sabina Ličen () and Mirko Prosen
Additional contact information
Sabina Ličen: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
Mirko Prosen: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: The integration of digital competences into higher education is essential for the promotion of effective and sustainable teaching and learning environments. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Digital Competence Scale for University Teachers (DCS-UT), an instrument to assess key digital competences of teachers. The development of the scale involved the creation of items based on an extensive literature review, followed by rigorous testing for content and face validity. The psychometric properties of the scale were assessed using data from 411 university teachers, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the underlying structure of the scale. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, which confirmed the internal consistency of the instrument (0.974). The analysis revealed a robust four-factor structure: digital literacy, digital skills, digital interaction, and technology integration, which together explained 70.284% of the variance. These findings underscore the value of the DCS-UT as a tool to promote sustainable teaching practises by assessing digital competences. By equipping teachers with essential digital competences, the scale supports the long-term adaptability and effectiveness of higher education institutions in an increasingly digital field.

Keywords: sustainable development; sustainable teaching; information literacy; technological innovations; faculty development; e-learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/22/9937/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/22/9937/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:22:p:9937-:d:1520976

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().