Digital Competence: Where do the Higher Education Teachers Stand?

Digitalization of higher education includes the use of digital tools and technologies for educational administration, teaching-learning process, evaluation, research, and extension activities. The 21st-century educational landscape is manifested by the key concept of digital competency of professionals in the knowledge area. Education and training, therefore, need to be at a premium, and the role of teachers being very important in imparting education and constructing learning experiences need to be continuously trained and updated. The nature of digital competency is exhilarating as well as requires specific efforts by teachers to adapt the latest technology-based skills. The idea behind the study was to find the answer to the question that where do the higher education teachers stand in this technological era? Thus, the study investigates the level of digital competence among higher education teachers and to find out their level in different dimensions of digital competence. Findings revealed that the higher education teachers under study have an intermediate level of digital competence only 8.44% of higher education teachers have an advanced level of digital competence. Higher education teachers have an intermediate level of digital competence in technological /operational/ instrumental dimension, information processing and management dimension, pedagogic/ knowledge construction dimension, and digital citizenship dimensions of DIGICOMP. The study concludes that higher education teachers may acquire the required knowledge, skills, and competence and elevate their level of digital competence to successfully compete in this technology-driven world.