Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education

The ubiquity of digital technologies has profoundly transformed communication and education in the 21st century, making the development of digital competence essential for both teachers and students to be prepared for the digital age. However, existing reviews predominantly focus on the teachers’ pe...

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Main Authors: Ma, Huiling, Ismail, Lilliati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/1/118380.pdf
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author Ma, Huiling
Ismail, Lilliati
author_facet Ma, Huiling
Ismail, Lilliati
author_sort Ma, Huiling
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The ubiquity of digital technologies has profoundly transformed communication and education in the 21st century, making the development of digital competence essential for both teachers and students to be prepared for the digital age. However, existing reviews predominantly focus on the teachers’ perspective with a limited scope and methodology. This literature review combines bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing research. Bibliometric analysis evaluates performance and science mapping to identify influential journals, countries, and authors while visualizing trends in the field. Content analysis identifies five major themes: (1) digital competence levels, (2) factors and variables, (3) digital competence and teacher education, (4) students’ digital competence, and (5) digital competence and academic performance. The study also outlines seven future research directions: (1) integrating digital competence into curricula, (2) initial training in digital competence for future professions, (3) subject-specific development, (4) expanding research samples to include younger students, (5) addressing limitations of self-assessment, (6) understanding the needs of teachers and students, and (7) strengthening administrative support. Overall, the review highlights challenges in measuring digital competence and underscores the need for its integration into education systems, offering insights into opportunities for future research.
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spelling upm-1183802025-07-09T02:54:41Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/ Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education Ma, Huiling Ismail, Lilliati The ubiquity of digital technologies has profoundly transformed communication and education in the 21st century, making the development of digital competence essential for both teachers and students to be prepared for the digital age. However, existing reviews predominantly focus on the teachers’ perspective with a limited scope and methodology. This literature review combines bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing research. Bibliometric analysis evaluates performance and science mapping to identify influential journals, countries, and authors while visualizing trends in the field. Content analysis identifies five major themes: (1) digital competence levels, (2) factors and variables, (3) digital competence and teacher education, (4) students’ digital competence, and (5) digital competence and academic performance. The study also outlines seven future research directions: (1) integrating digital competence into curricula, (2) initial training in digital competence for future professions, (3) subject-specific development, (4) expanding research samples to include younger students, (5) addressing limitations of self-assessment, (6) understanding the needs of teachers and students, and (7) strengthening administrative support. Overall, the review highlights challenges in measuring digital competence and underscores the need for its integration into education systems, offering insights into opportunities for future research. Springer Nature 2025-02-11 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/1/118380.pdf Ma, Huiling and Ismail, Lilliati (2025) Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12 (1). art. no. 185. pp. 1-17. ISSN 2662-9992; eISSN: 2662-9992 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-025-04401-1?error=cookies_not_supported&code=1b5bdc32-2354-4d1f-bc0c-46ed01ebd459 10.1057/s41599-025-04401-1
spellingShingle Ma, Huiling
Ismail, Lilliati
Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title_full Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title_fullStr Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title_full_unstemmed Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title_short Bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
title_sort bibliometric analysis and systematic review of digital competence in education
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/118380/1/118380.pdf