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Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al.
Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
h ps://doi.o g/10.1186/s40461-025-00198-0
*Co espondence:
Ane Zubiza e a Pagaldai
[email p o ec ed]
1Mond agon Uni e si y,
Mond agón, Spain
2Swiss Fede al Uni e si y o
Voca ional Educa ion and T aining,
Zolliko en, Swi ze land
3Uni e si y o Lleida, Lleida, Spain
Fac o s in luencing he digi al compe ence
o s uden s in basic oca ional educa ion
aining
AneZubiza e a Pagaldai1*, Albe oCa aneo2, Aina aImaz Agi e1 and Vic o ia I.Ma ín3
In oduc ion
Digi alisa ion has had a g ea impac on socie y and his is why he 21 s cen u y is
known as he echnology e a (Zhao e al. 2021). The labou ma ke has been changed
by digi alisa ion and he ad ancemen s o Indus y 4.0, equi ing educa ion sys ems
o adap hei o e ings o align wi h i s e ol ing demands (Wild and Schulze Heuling
2020). Thus, new skills and compe ences a e needed due o he g owing impo ance o
echnology (Findeisen and Wild 2022). Digi al compe ence (DC) is one o he key com-
pe ences o li elong lea ning (Eu opean Commission 2019) since i enables indi iduals
o play an ac i e ole in all a eas o socie y (González-Ma ínez e al. 2018). No wi h-
s anding he assump ion ha young people possess su icien digi al skills, s udies e eal
ha hey do no necessa ily possess he app op ia e digi al knowledge o en a ibu ed
Empi ical Resea ch in
Voca ional Educa ion
and T aining
Abs ac
Digi al compe ence (DC) is essen ial in o de o indi iduals o ac i ely pa icipa e in
all sec o s o socie y. While high school s uden s’ DC has been s udied ex ensi ely,
ew s udies ha e examined DC in oca ional educa ion and aining (VET). To
add ess his gap, a s udy in he con ex o he Basque Au onomous Communi y
was ca ied ou wi h he objec i es o measu ing Basic VET s uden s’ DC pe cep ions
and in es iga ing he ac o s ha ha e an impac on Basic VET s uden s’ DC.
Desc ip i e and mul ile el analyses we e conduc ed. The esul s indica e a need
o ocus on enhancing Basic VET s uden s’ DC, as hese skills a e c i ical o hei
p o essional de elopmen . Fu he mo e, school p edic o s we e ound o be he
s onges p edic o s o s uden s’ DC, ollowed by a i ude owa d in o ma ion and
communica ion echnologies and he equency o echnology use o school- ela ed
and pe sonal pu poses. This s udy p o ides knowledge ha could help educa ional
ins i u ions iden i y a eas o u he imp o emen in os e ing s uden s’ DC, and
p o ides policy make s wi h a comp ehensi e unde s anding o he p esen si ua ion
o VET s uden s’ DC.
Keywo ds S uden s’ digi al compe ence, Voca ional educa ion and aining, School
digi al capaci y, Digi al ans o ma ion
Page 2 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
o hem (Ki schne and De B uycke e 2017). In se e al s udies i has been concluded
ha young people do no possess an op imal le el o DC, despi e ha ing g own up in a
digi al echnology con ex (Es anyol e al. 2023; Galla do Echenique e al. 2015; Kennedy
e al. 2009; Val e de-C espo e al. 2020).
Educa ion is essen ial o he p og ess o socie y (Ko alchuk e al. 2023) and oca-
ional educa ion and aining (VET) plays a c ucial ole in mee ing he needs o he
labou ma ke and socie y (Ca aneo e al. 2022). In o de o signi ican ly impac busi-
nesses and indi iduals, VET should p epa e young people (Basque Go e nmen 2022a;
Cede op 2023a), p o iding en i onmen s in which s uden s de elop hei digi al skills
(Sub ahmanyam 2022). Digi al ans o ma ion has become a p io i y in Eu ope (Eu o-
pean Educa ion and Cul u e Execu i e Agency 2019) and he need o wo k on DC has
been in eg a ed in o educa ional policy in VET (Cede op 2023a). Basic VET is one o
he Basque Au onomous Communi y (BAC), designed o educe ea ly school lea ing
(Basque Go e nmen 2015, 2016; Cede op 2023b). Ne e heless, basic VET s uden s’
DC has a ely been s udied (Aguila de la Rosa, 2022). Gi en ha he de elopmen o
Indus y 4.0 is eshaping wo k s uc u es and making DC a co e equi emen ac oss
all sec o s (Ind awan and Lay 2019; Cede op 2023a), u he esea ch on his g oup is
highly ele an .
Thus, he p esen s udy analyses Basic VET s uden s’ pe cep ions o DC in he Basque
Au onomous Communi y (BAC) as well as he pe sonal and con ex ual ac o s ha
in luence hose pe cep ions. I o e s insigh s ha can p o ide educa ional ins i u ions
wi h knowledge ha will allow hem o iden i y a eas o enhancing s uden s’ DC and
equips policymake s wi h a ho ough unde s anding o VET s uden s’ digi al landscape.
To achie e his, i s , he heo e ical amewo k is p esen ed o con ex ualise he s udy.
The subsequen sec ion de ails he me hodological app oach adop ed. The esul s a e
hen epo ed and u he examined in he discussion. Finally, he conclusions highligh
he main con ibu ions, implica ions, and a enues o u u e esea ch.
Theo e ical amewo k
Digi al compe ence
DC is a key compe ence o li elong lea ning, de ined as “con iden , c i ical and espon-
sible use o , and engagemen wi h, digi al echnologies o lea ning, a wo k, and o pa -
icipa ion in socie y” (Eu opean Commission 2019, p. 10). Acco ding o La az (2013), i
in ol es he abili y o mobilise in o ma ion, echnological, mul imedia, and communica-
ion li e acies o p ocess in o ma ion, sha e knowledge, and sol e p oblems. In o ma ion
li e acy in ol es he capaci y o a icula e i , loca e i , e alua e i , o ganise i , ans o m
i in o knowledge and communica e i app op ia ely in a gi en con ex . Technological
li e acy e e s o he abili y o p ocess da a in se e al o ma s, adequa ely and e ec i ely
adap ing i o he public and he con ex . This implies a echnical mas e y o he o gan-
isa ion and managemen o echnical de ices. Mul imedia li e acy en ails analysing and
c ea ing mul imodal digi al messages om a c i ical pe spec i e. Finally, communica-
ion li e acy enables sa e, e hical, and esponsible in e ac ion and collabo a ion in digi al
en i onmen s, o ming he basis o digi al ci izenship.
Hence, he in eg a ion o hese ou li e acies acili a es indi iduals o make in o med
decisions ac oss all a eas o he lea ning ecosys em, whe he pe sonal, p o essional, o
social. Gi en his in e ela ed na u e o DC, an ins umen called INCOTIC 2.0 was
Page 3 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
de eloped as i s assessmen equi es an ins umen capable o cap u ing i s cons i uen
li e acies (González-Ma ínez e al. 2018).
Resea ch using he INCOTIC 2.0 ins umen a he uni e si y le el e eals key pa -
e ns in s uden s’ sel -pe cei ed DC ac oss i s ou co e li e acies. Findings show a com-
mon end o high mul imedia li e acy bu low echnological li e acy (Llopis Nebo e
al. 2018; Sánchez-Caballé e al. 2019). Howe e , o he s udies epo high in o ma ion
and low communica ion li e acy ins ead, wi h he indica o ela ed o publica ion unde
he C ea i e Commons license yielding he lowes sco e (Hen íquez Co onel e al. 2018).
These di e ences likely e lec a ying academic con ex s and disciplina y demands.
Addi ionally, he use o digi al echnologies o leisu e had he highes sco es (Hen íquez
Co onel e al. 2018; Sánchez-Caballé e al. 2019), highe han he sco es o he use o
hese echnologies o school- ela ed pu poses; his is consis en wi h he esul s o p e-
ious s udies (Gisbe Ce e a e al. 2016; La az 2013). Fu he mo e, he esul s showed
ha s uden s ha e a highly posi i e a i ude owa d echnology (Sánchez-Caballé e al.
2019), also in line wi h p e ious analyses (Ki unja 2015; P endes e al. 2010).
To he bes o ou knowledge, no p io s udies ha e employed he INCOTIC 2.0
ins umen o in es iga e DC a non-uni e si y educa ional le els. I s heo e ical obus -
ness, de i ed om a close alignmen wi h La az’s (2013) mul idimensional de ini ion o
DC, p o ides a solid ounda ion o his applica ion. Gi en ha hese dimensions o DC
a e ans e able ac oss educa ional con ex s, he ques ionnai e is sui able o he VET
con ex , whe e he cu iculum is explici ly designed o b idge he gap be ween educa ion
and labou ma ke demands (Wild and Schulze Heuling 2020). The e o e, he INCOTIC
2.0 p o ides a obus amewo k o assess VET s uden s’ digi al eadiness o labou
ma ke demands, as i s ou co e li e acies a e c ucial o de eloping he holis ic skill se
needed o na iga e complex challenges and make in o med decisions in all a eas o li e.
To his end, he p esen s udy analyses VET s uden s’ pe cep ions o DC and he ac o s
ha impac i .
S uden s’ DC in VET
The p og ess o socie y elies on how educa ion de elops and VET is one o he mos
impo an pilla s ha lead o success ul economic de elopmen (Ko alchuk e al. 2023).
I p epa es u u e quali ied wo ke s who a e aligned wi h he needs and equi emen s o
he labou ma ke by p omo ing aining in o de o achie e a high le el o p o essional
compe ency (Ko alchuk e al. 2023). The apid de elopmen o Indus y 4.0 is eshap-
ing wo k s uc u es, p esen ing signi ican challenges o adap a ion (Ind awan and Lay
2019); in esponse, DC is becoming undamen al o nea ly all occupa ions (Cede op
2023a). Despi e he ac ha 90% o jobs in all sec o s equi e some o m o digi al skills
and ha hese equi ed skills will shi om basic o ad anced in he u u e, 35% o Eu o-
pean wo ke s s ill lack hese skills (Eu opean Commission 2020). To add ess his si ua-
ion, Eu ope has es ablished a goal o a minimum o 80% o he popula ion o possess
basic digi al skills by 2030 (Eu opean Commission 2022a). The e o e, he de elopmen
o s uden s’ DC is an impo an aspec o hei aining (Ko alchuk e al. 2023).
This is why Basic VET s uden s mus be digi ally compe en and ully able o make
app op ia e use o digi al echnologies (Mo eno Gue e o e al. 2019). Howe e , each
s uden has hei own speci ic digi al cha ac e is ics depending on hei p io educa-
ional expe ience (Mo eno Gue e o e al. 2019). Acco ding o Aguila de la Rosa (2022),
Page 4 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
VET s uden s’ DC and digi al echnology use ha e no been equen ly s udied, and he
ew s udies in his e iew demons a e ha VET s uden s show lowe DC pe cep ion le -
els han s uden s in o he s ages o highe educa ion. In ano he s udy on Ge man VET,
i was ound ha s uden s do no ha e p oblems na iga ing he In e ne bu do expe i-
ence di icul ies when sea ching o in o ma ion and eading Web con en (Bu che e
al. 2013). The DC o s uden s in coope a i e highe educa ion and VET was compa ed in
a s udy (Wild and Schulze Heuling 2020), which ound ha he DC le el o coope a i e
highe educa ion s uden s was mo e ad anced han ha o VET s uden s. Fu he mo e,
se e al s udies indica e ha he e is a highe a ini y o using digi al echnologies o
p i a e pu poses a he han o p o essional o educa ional easons (Aguila de la Rosa,
2022; Bu che e al. 2013).
Rega ding he equency o echnology use, he li e a u e shows ha VET s uden s
lack DC om a pedagogical pe spec i e, al hough hey possess hese compe ences om
a echnological pe spec i e (Mo eno Gue e o e al. 2019). Howe e , Mo eno Gue e o’s
analysis is based p ima ily on he use o digi al echnology o di e en pu poses a he
han on analysing he abili y o manage he ou li e acies, which be e aligns wi h he
de ini ion o DC (La az 2013) adop ed he e. Thus, he p esen s udy ocuses on analys-
ing Basic VET s uden s’ DC based on he ou li e acies a he han me ely s udying he
equency o use o digi al echnologies.
Fac o s in luencing DC
DC encompasses a ange o ac o s, a bo h he con ex ual and pe sonal le els, ha a e
essen ial o e ec i ely na iga ing he digi al landscape. These ac o s ha e been ex en-
si ely s udied in he con ex o educa o s, wi h signi ican esea ch ocusing on eache s
(Ca aneo e al. 2022; Lucas e al. 2021). Howe e , when examining s uden s, he si ua-
ion is no ably di e en .
The school con ex plays a c ucial ole in shaping s uden s’ DC. Ne e heless, he e is
a no iceable gap in esea ch examining exac ly how his con ex in luences he de elop-
men o s uden s’ DC. Educa ion should help lea ne s o de elop hei DC (Eu opean
Commission 2020). The e o e, in e ms o skills de elopmen , esea ch and knowl-
edge gene a ion, he educa ional sys em mus adap o he needs o he digi al e olu-
ion (Basque Go e nmen 2022b). Conside ing his ans o ma ion scena io, DC mus
be es ablished as a undamen al elemen in o de o gua an ee oppo uni ies o digi al
echnologies in eaching and lea ning en i onmen s (Basque Go e nmen 2022b).
Fo a success ul digi al ans o ma ion in educa ion, schools’ digi al capaci y mus be
inc eased in o de o suppo he e ec i e in eg a ion o echnology (Cos a e al. 2021).
Digi al capaci y is de ined as he e ec i e in eg a ion o echnology in o eaching and
lea ning p ocesses h ough he school’s cul u al en i onmen , policies, in as uc u e
and s uden s’ and eache s’ DC (Cos a e al. 2021). Wi h he objec i e o helping schools
o de e mine hei deg ee o digi al capaci y, he SELFIE ool was designed (Eu opean
Commission 2022b). The ool p o ides schools wi h a holis ic iew o o ganisa ional
s a egies o he school’s digi al ans o ma ion, aking 8 a eas in o accoun (Eu opean
Commission 2022b): Leade ship, Collabo a ion and ne wo king, In as uc u e and
equipmen , Con inuing p o essional de elopmen , Pedagogy – suppo and esou ces,
Pedagogy – implemen a ion in he class oom, Assessmen p ac ices, and S uden digi al
compe ence.
Page 5 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
Beyond con ex ual in luences, i is c ucial o conside he pe sonal ac o s in luencing
DC (González-Ma ínez e al. 2018), as hey p o ide c i ical insigh s in o he indi id-
ual di e ences ha explain why s uden s wi h simila access o echnology and aining
o en exhibi a ying le els o p o iciency. Se e al ac o s ha e been analysed a di e en
educa ional le els, including gende , p e ious educa ional expe ience, he equency o
use o digi al echnologies, a i udes owa d ICTs, age, and educa ional and p o essional
quali ica ions.
In e ms o gende , while some s udies ca ied ou in seconda y educa ion ha e dem-
ons a ed ha males ha e a g ea e pe cep ion o DC (Fus e -Rico e al. 2025; Niño-Co -
és e al. 2023), o he s conclude ha emales ha e a be e pe cep ion o his compe ence
(F aillon e al. 2014). Ano he s udy a he same educa ional le el ound s a is ically
signi ican gende di e ences only in communica i e li e acy, wi h boys pe cei ing
hemsel es as mo e p o icien han gi ls (Ve dú-Pina e al. 2024). Rega ding s uden s’
p e ious educa ional expe iences, a s udy wi h lowe -seconda y s uden s concluded ha
p io academic achie emen is one o he mos impo an p edic o s o s uden s’ DC
(Ha le ik e al. 2015). Addi ionally, in s udies on he use o digi al echnologies in highe
educa ion, i was concluded ha s uden s’ DC pe cep ion was ela ed o hei equency
o use o ICTs (Es e e Mon 2015; González-Ma ínez e al. 2018) as well as o hei a i-
udes owa d ICTs (B owne 2009; Edmunds e al. 2012; González-Ma ínez e al. 2018;
Sang e al. 2010). On he o he hand, some s udies in highe educa ion e ealed ha
s uden s’ a i udes owa d he use o ICTs a e posi i e when hey a e use ul o each he
objec i e and easy o use (Edmunds e al. 2012; Espuny Vidal e al. 2011).
Findeisen and Wild (2022) analysed ac o s in luencing comme cial VET s uden s’
DC pe cep ions, highligh ing he posi i e impac o p o essional quali ica ions, he
equency o use in some lea ning oppo uni ies ( he use o de ices o sea ch o con-
en /in o ma ion on he In e ne , he use o o ice p og ams, eading blogs o o ums,
and c ea ing blog en ies) and he equency o use o ins an messaging se ices. Con-
e sely, online lea ning had a nega i e impac , sugges ing i is no seen as ele an o DC
de elopmen . Howe e , he esea ch was based on he comme cial VET sec o , and he
conclusions canno be ex ended o o he VET ields. Thus, in he p esen esea ch, addi-
ional ac o s ha ha e an impac on Basic VET s uden s’ DC will be analysed.
To da e, ew s udies ha e conside ed bo h pe sonal and con ex ual ac o s when
analysing s uden s’ DC. Zhong (2011) ound ha he ICT pene a ion a e nega i ely
impac s s uden s’ digi al skill pe cep ion, indica ing ha he p esence o ICTs does no
gua an ee g ea e oppo uni ies o use ICTs o o wo k on li e acy. The his o y o using
ICTs and ICT use a home and a school showed a posi i e impac on hei digi al skill
pe cep ion, wi h hei use o ICTs a home as he g ea es p edic o . Ne e heless, his
p e ious s udy does no analyse he pedagogical use o ICTs o school digi al implemen-
a ion based on he ac o s ha ha e an impac on s uden s’ digi al skills.
Hippe and Jakubowski (2022) used SELFIE da a o analyse di e ences in s uden s’
DC ac oss coun ies, schools, and indi iduals. The esul s e ealed ha a he s uden
le el, indi idual pe cep ions o in as uc u e, pedagogy, and assessmen s we e s ongly
ela ed o hei DC. A he school le el, he agg ega ion o hese s uden pe cep ions
(school clima e) showed an e en s onge associa ion wi h DC. In con as , eache -
epo ed indica o s we e no signi ican in explaining a ia ions. A he coun y le el,
di e ences in DC we e linked o pe cei ed suppo o eache pedagogy and access o
Page 6 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
digi al esou ces. Ne e heless, s uden s’ DC was based on SELFIE esul s, and he ocus
was on measu ing he impac o se e al p edic o s on he oppo uni ies ha s uden s
ha e o wo k on hei DC in schools. To he bes o ou knowledge, no s udies ha e ye
in es iga ed VET s uden s’ DC in ela ion o pe sonal and school (digi al capaci y) ac-
o s. The e o e, he p esen s udy also aims o iden i y he ac o s ha ha e he s onges
impac on s uden s’ DC pe cep ion.
The speci ic con ex o he s udy
Agains he in e na ional backg ound p o ided so a , he Spanish VET sys em aims o
ain p o essionals o speci ic occupa ions and di ec labou ma ke en y (Aguila de la
Rosa, 2022). Basic VET is one o he VET le els o e ed in he BAC (Basque Go e nmen
2016) as i is in Spain. The aim o Basic VET is o p omo e s uden e en ion in he edu-
ca ion sys em by o e ing o he oppo uni ies o ob ain a Compulso y Seconda y Educa-
ion G adua ion Ce i ica e as well as a basic echnician diploma (Basque Go e nmen
2015; Cede op 2023b). Th ough Basic VET, s uden s no only acqui e p o essional quali-
ica ions bu also de elop essen ial skills (Mo eno Gue e o e al. 2019), such as digi al
skills (Basque Go e nmen 2022a). As he demand o digi al skills in he labou ma ke
is inc easing, he need o wo k on DC has been in eg a ed in o VET educa ional policy
(Cede op 2023a). The Spanish VET mode nisa ion plan includes a s a egy o p omo e
digi alisa ion o economic and social g ow h (Spanish Go e nmen 2020). Aligned wi h
his, he 6 h Basque VET plan aims o expand digi al ans o ma ion and encou age he
pedagogical use o digi al echnologies (Basque Go e nmen 2022a).
Aims and esea ch ques ions
As indica ed by he discussion abo e, no s udies could be ound on Basic VET s uden s’
DC pe cep ions, as p e ious analyses we e ca ied ou wi h s uden s a o he educa-
ional le els (Hen íquez Co onel e al. 2018; Llopis Nebo e al. 2018; Sánchez-Caballé
e al. 2019). Addi ionally, he a ailable esea ch on he use o digi al de ices o o he
pu poses (Mo eno Gue e o e al. 2019) was based on a speci ic VET ield and coun y
(Findeisen and Wild 2022). Finally, we ound no s udies ha conside he in e ac ions
among pe sonal and school ac o s as hey ela e o s uden s’ DC pe cep ions. Thus, he
p esen s udy aims o measu e Basic VET s uden s’ pe cei ed DC in he BAC, iden i y
he e ec s o pe sonal and school ac o s on i , and de e mine he s onges p edic o s o
hei DC. To do so, he ollowing esea ch ques ions we e posed:
RQ1: Wha a e he a i udes owa d ICTs, equency o use o digi al echnologies and
DC pe cep ions o Basic VET s uden s in he BAC?
RQ2: How do he school’s deg ee o digi al capaci y, he SELFIE a eas, and he s u-
den s’ pe sonal cha ac e is ics in luence Basic VET s uden s’ DC pe cep ions?
Me hod
Sample
The da a employed in his s udy we e ob ained om BAC Basic VET schools. The sam-
ple consis ed o 857 s uden s om 21 schools, and da a collec ion was ca ied ou du -
ing Ap il and May o 2023. The dis ibu ion o s uden s ac oss he VET wo k a eas in
he s udy was as ollows: 28.4% in indus y and manu ac u ing, 25.7% in spo and well-
being, 13.2% in hospi ali y, ou ism and comme ce, 11.9% in echnology and inno a ion,
Page 7 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
9% in anspo and au omo i e, 3.9% in adminis a ion and managemen , 3% in hospi-
ali y, ou ism and comme ce, 2.8% in ag icul u e, ishe ies and he u al en i onmen ,
and 2.1% in a s, design and communica ion. The gende dis ibu ion o he pa icipan s
was as ollows: 32.7% emale, 59.6% male, 3.4% non-bina y, and 4.3% p e e ed no o
answe (Appendix A). Schools we e assigned numbe s in place o names o main ain
anonymi y.
Ins umen s
INCOTIC: measu ing s uden s’ DC pe cep ion
McDonald’s omega analysis was conduc ed in o de o de e mine he eliabili y o he
INCOTIC 2.0 ins umen (González-Ma ínez e al. 2018) wi h Basic VET s uden s. The
esul s indica e ha he ins umen can be conside ed eliable, wi h all subscales ha ing
a McDonald’s omega alue anging om 0.807 o 0.855 (Table1). The ques ionnai e con-
sis ed o i e sec ions: demog aphic in o ma ion, echnological p o ile, DC pe cep ion,
a i ude owa d ICTs, and echnoe hics.
The s uden s’ demog aphic in o ma ion, such as gende , ype o s udies and school,
we e collec ed in he i s sec ion o he ques ionnai e. All o he i ems we e answe ed on
a 5-poin Like scale. Fou i ems ga he ed he s uden s’ echnological p o ile esponses
on a scale om 1 (“I comple ely disag ee”) o 5 (“I s ongly ag ee”). Two o hese i ems
we e ela ed o he s uden s’ equency o use o digi al echnologies o leisu e o
school- ela ed pu poses (e.g., “I am a pe son who uses digi al ools a lo in my pe sonal
li e”) and wo we e ela ed o hei need o elephone and In e ne se ices (e.g., “I
couldn’ li e wi hou my mobile phone”). A o al o 19 i ems measu ed he subjec s’ DC
pe cep ions, wi h esponses on a scale om 1 (“I do no know how o do his”) o 5 (“I
can do his wi hou di icul y”); hese we e di ided in o ou dimensions: In o ma ion
(e.g., “Sa ing all links o classwo k in o ma ion in an o de ly manne ”), Technology (e.g.,
“Connec o he mos secu e Wi-Fi ne wo k a ailable”), Mul imedia (e.g., “Realize when
I’m being icked by a mul imedia message”) and Communica ion (e.g., “Wo k collab-
o a i ely on a sha ed documen in he cloud”). Nine i ems ga he ed in o ma ion on he
s uden s’ a i udes owa d ICTs (e.g., “They help me lea n au onomously”) and i e i ems
measu ed hei echnoe hics (e.g., “I’m conce ned abou my secu i y and p i acy on he
In e ne ”) on a scale om 1 (“I comple ely disag ee”) o 5 (“I s ongly ag ee”).
Table 1 Gene al indica o s o INCOTIC 2.0
Scale eliabili y s a is ics
McDonald’s
Scale 0.846
I em Reliabili y S a is ics
Technological p o ile 0.855
Digi al compe ence
1. In o ma ion li e acy 0.807
2. Technological li e acy 0.807
3. Mul imedia li e acy 0.810
4. Communica ion li e acy 0.822
A i ude owa d ICTs 0.818
Technoe hics 0.835
Page 8 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
SELFIE: measu ing he digi al capaci y o schools
McDonald’s omega analysis was conduc ed (Table2) in o de o de e mine he eliabili y
o he SELFIE ool (Eu opean Commission 2022b). The esul s indica e ha he ins u-
men can be conside ed eliable, wi h all subscales ha ing a McDonald’s omega alue
anging om 0.942 o 0.952 (Table2). All i ems employed a 5-poin Like scale, wi h
esponses anging om 1 (“I comple ely disag ee/I do no do his a all”) o 5 (“S ongly
ag ee/I do his e y well”), including an op ion o “No Applicable” (N/A).
The su ey was comple ed by each school’s managemen eam membe s, eache s and
s uden s in o de o ga he in o ma ion on hei expe ience o digi al implemen a ion in
hei schools (Eu opean Commission 2022b). Managemen eam membe s and each-
e s comple ed a 31-i em ques ionnai e encompassing Leade ship (e.g., “A ou school,
we ha e a digi al s a egy”), Collabo a ion and ne wo king (e.g., “A ou school, we use
digi al echnologies when collabo a ing wi h o he ins i u ions”), In as uc u e and
equipmen (e.g., “A ou cen e , he e a e digi al de ices o eaching use”), Con inu-
ing p o essional de elopmen (e.g., “Ou managemen eam discusses digi al echnolo-
gies wi h us in ela ion o con inuing p o essional aining needs ela ed o educa ion”),
Pedagogy in e ms o suppo and esou ces (e.g., “Ou eache s seek online educa ional
esou ces”), Pedagogy ela ed o class oom implemen a ion (e.g., “I use digi al ech-
nologies in my eaching me hod o adap o he needs o each s uden ”), Assessmen
p ac ices (e.g., “Ou eache s use digi al echnologies o assess s uden s’ abili ies”), and
S uden digi al compe ence (e.g., “A ou school, s uden s lea n how o ac sa ely on he
In e ne ”). S uden s, on he o he hand, comple ed an 18-i em ques ionnai e ocusing
on In as uc u e and equipmen (e.g., “A ou school, I ha e access o he In e ne o
lea n”), Pedagogy ela ed o class oom implemen a ion (e.g., “A ou school, when I use
echnology, I pa icipa e mo e”), and S uden digi al compe ence (e.g., “A ou school,
I lea n how o de e mine whe he he in o ma ion I ind on he In e ne is eliable and
co ec ”). This ailo ed app oach ensu ed ha he in o ma ion collec ed e lec ed he
school’s digi al capaci y, inco po a ing he di ec pa icipa ion o each g oup in ol ed in
he implemen a ion o digi alisa ion.
Da a collec ion
Da a we e collec ed h ough online su eys. Fo he SELFIE ques ionnai e, di ec links
we e p o ided by he SELFIE coo dina o o each school o managemen eam mem-
be s, eache s and s uden s, and each p o ile had i s own link. Once he su eys we e
comple ed, SELFIE epo s we e eques ed om all schools. Rega ding INCOTIC 2.0, a
Table 2 Gene al indica o s o SELFIE
Scale eliabili y s a is ics
McDonald’s
Scale 0.952
I em Reliabili y S a is ics
Leade ship 0.949
Collabo a ion and ne wo king 0.945
In as uc u e and equipmen 0.948
Con inuing p o essional de elopmen 0.951
Pedagogy: suppo and esou ces 0.945
Pedagogy: implemen a ion in he class oom 0.943
Assessmen p ac ices 0.943
S uden digi al compe ence 0.942
Page 9 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
di ec link was p o ided o s uden s. Fo bo h su eys, in o med consen was ob ained
om all pa icipan s, and con iden iali y and anonymi y we e main ained h oughou
he esea ch p ocess. This s udy was conduc ed always conside ing he e hical p inciples
o he Decla a ion o Helsinki and he Ame ican Psychological Associa ion.
Analysis
All analyses in his s udy we e conduc ed using R ( e sion 4.4.0). Fi s , desc ip i e s a-
is ics we e gene a ed o explain he means and s anda d de ia ions o he sco es o
s uden s’ a i udes owa d ICTs, equency o use o digi al echnologies o pe sonal and
school- ela ed pu poses, and DC pe cep ions.
Addi ionally, conside ing ha s uden s ( i s le el) a e nes ed wi hin schools (sec-
ond le el), mul ile el linea modelings (MLMs) we e conduc ed o answe RQ2. In he
MLM analysis, all schools wi h a leas 10 s uden pa icipan s we e included, as his was
deemed an app op ia e numbe ollowing Schmi z e al.‘s (2022) s udy. In o de o de e -
mine whe he an MLM analysis was necessa y, an uncondi ional model (null model) was
es ima ed o es whe he di e ences in s uden s’ DC pe cep ions could be ound a he
indi idual and school le els. Analysis o a iance (ANOVA) was used o compa e a sin-
gle-le el model. Fu he mo e, he in aclass co ela ion (ICC) o s uden s’ DC pe cep-
ions was compu ed in o de o de e mine wha p opo ion o he o al a iance in hose
pe cep ions is a ibu able o di e ences among schools.
Nex , g and mean cen e ing was applied o cen e he p edic o s, which made i pos-
sible o de e mine he a e age e ec o s uden and school cha ac e is ics. A e ha ,
andom in e cep MLM analyses we e conduc ed. Two di e en models we e c ea ed
o answe RQ2. Howe e , in o de o con i m ha hese wo models we e he app op i-
a e ones, di e en models we e compa ed (including and excluding di e en p edic o s)
using ANOVA and conside ing he Akaike in o ma ion c i e ion (AIC), he Bayesian
in o ma ion c i e ion (BIC) and log-likelihood (logLik). Fo he i s model, he le el 1
p edic o s we e a i udes owa d ICTs and he use o digi al echnologies o pe sonal
and school- ela ed pu poses, and he le el 2 p edic o was he school’s deg ee o digi al
capaci y, conside ing he mean o all SELFIE a eas. In o de o de e mine which SELFIE
a eas we e signi ican p edic o s o he s uden s’ DC pe cep ions, a b eakdown o he
a eas was made. Fo he second model, he le el 1 p edic o s we e he same as hose o
he i s model bu , a e compa ing di e en models (Appendix B), only h ee SELFIE
a eas we e conside ed app op ia e le el 2 p edic o s: Pedagogy (suppo and esou ces),
Pedagogy (implemen a ion in he class oom) and Assessmen p ac ices. These a eas a e
ela ed o he in eg a ion o digi al echnologies in eaching and lea ning p ocesses, hus
i is expec ed ha hey would ha e a di ec impac on s uden s. Finally, 95% con idence
in e als we e calcula ed o de e mine he p ecision o he esul s.
Resul s
Desc ip i e analyses
To add ess RQ1, desc ip i e s a is ics—including means and s anda d de ia ions—we e
calcula ed o analyse he means and s anda d de ia ions o s uden s’ equency o use
o digi al echnologies o pe sonal and school- ela ed pu poses and DC pe cep ion.
Wi h espec o he equency o use o digi al echnology, highe sco es we e ob ained
o pe sonal use (M = 3.86; SD = 1.24) han o school- ela ed use (M = 2.89; SD = 1.32).
Page 16 o 16Zubiza e a Pagaldai e al. Empi ical Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (2025) 17:19
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Publishe ’s no e
Sp inge Na u e emains neu al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional claims in published maps and ins i u ional a ilia ions.
