Digital competence and metacognitive characteristics of college and university students

Abstract

The youth of today tend to actively use digital resources and devices in various areas of everyday life. Meanwhile, information and communication technologies are being extensively introduced into the environment of educational institutions. Whether this process will be effective largely depends on students’ competent use of digital technologies, which determines their ability to confidently and productively apply digital technologies in everyday life. Despite the wide spread of information and communication technologies, scientific literature still lacks a holistic view of the psychological profile of the ‘digital generation’, including its cognitive sphere, which is undergoing significant change given the digital transformation of society. It is therefore useful to study the relationship between young people’s digital competence and their metacognitive parameters, reflecting their knowledge of the cognitive sphere and ways to manage it. This research perspective is also relevant for the study of students who go to seconddary vocational and higher educational institutions to acquire knowledge for their future profession. It therefore aims to study the metacognitive characteristics of college and university students with low and high levels of digital competence. Study sample: 172 students from colleges (N=88) and universities (N=84) in Saint Petersburg and Syktyvkar. Methods: survey; psychodiagnostic method; statistical data processing (including the Mann–Whitney U-test for comparative analysis); Digital Competence Index (G. U. Soldatova, T. A. Nestik, E. I. Rasskazova, E. Y. Zotova); Metacognitive Involvement in Activities Questionnaire (E. I. Perikova, V. M. Byzova); Metacognitive Skills in the Structure of Educational and Professional Activities Questionnaire (E. G. Denisova); and Metacognition Concerning Problematic Smartphone Use Questionnaire (A. V. Miklyaeva, V. N. Panferov, I. A. Gorkovaya). Study results: the results revealed statistically significant differences in the metacognitive profile of college and university students with different levels of digital competence. College students with digital competence have fixed activity planning skills and knowledge of their own cognitive strategies for effective self-organization, while university students with digital competence have metacognitive knowledge about their own knowledge and abilities and about the ways of applying them in different situations. The results obtained indicate a specific metacognitive regulation of the use of digital technologies among college and university students and can be applied in psychological and pedagogical support programs facilitating their adaptation to the digital educational environment.