University students’ competences in ICT: A view from the education domain

Contemporary university students face the knowledge society, where mastering information and communication technologies (ICT) is an essential requirement to form part of this society. The objective of our study was to validate a basic ICT competences model made up of three ICT competence subsets (technological, pedagogical and ethical) influenced by various personal and contextual factors. For this purpose, a cross-sectional explanatory correlation design was used, with a sample of 646 university students from the University of Valencia (Spain), collecting the information through a questionnaire. A multiple indicators and multiple causes model was used to validate the students’ ICT competences model. The results revealed that ICT competences form a single set made up of three subsets of competences: technological, pedagogical and ethical. An asymmetrical explanatory relation was found between the technological and pedagogical competences on the one hand and between the ethical and pedagogical competences on the other hand. The factors gender, area in which the degree is taught and the frequency of using a computer with the Internet impacted on the three subsets of competences. The model shows the complexity of university students’ ICT competences, with training in ICT competences being an important element to consider. Implications for practice or policy: University leaders have to include the three ICT competence subsets in the curriculum. University teachers must promote the three ICT competence subsets in their classes. Instructional designers and educational technologists should include the three ICT competences subsets in their training plans.