Abstract:

Digital competence is one of the key competences that are emphasized in many European-level documents (e.g., documents about lifelong learning). Since 2014 digital competence was also embedded in the Estonian national curriculum for basic schools and national curriculum for upper secondary schools. These new developments in the curricula set certain criteria for digital competences that students have to obtain during their school years. Considering the criteria described in the curricula, digital competence is defined in this paper as the ability to use certain technologies in order to communicate; search for information; create and share digital content; and be aware of the risks of the digital world. Although research states that students show high competence, there are studies which indicate that students are not using digital possibilities meaningfully and are not aware of risks involved in using digital technologies. Thus, this paper aims at clarifying students’ digital competence by using students’ self-assessment reports. A sample of 40 Estonian students from the 6th (11–12 years of age) and the 9th (15–16 years of age) grades participated in this study. The results revealed that competences related to communication (e.g., the use of social media) and entertainment were rated highly in students’ self-assessment while competences related to searching for information, creating and sharing digital content, and awareness of the risks of the digital world were rated lower.

Keywords:

Digital competence, self-assessment, students.