Digital Competences of Students at the University of Banja Luka: Research in the Context of Distance Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Jovana Mlinarević, Borislav Vukojević

Abstract


The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions around the world to rapidly transition to distance learning, which has put students’ digital competences in the focus of research. The aim was to examine the digital competences of students at the University of Banja Luka in terms of accessing, creating and analyzing content, evaluating information, the ethics of using technology, and to identify potentials for further development of distance learning. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire on a sample of 454 students from all faculties of the University of Banja Luka during the state of emergency (March–May 2020). A combination of nominal and ordinal measurement scales was applied. The results show that 64% of students have never taken an online course before; 65% of students believe that they have coped well in the new circumstances; 74% do not pay enough attention to the credibility of information; 81% of students encountered the Zoom application for the first time. A gap was observed between self-assessment of digital competences and the actual level of media literacy. The results indicate that students possess the competences for the technical use of digital tools, but show deficiencies in understanding the underlying dangers and critical evaluation of information. The research emphasizes the necessity of systematic integration of digital education into curricula.

Keywords


University of Banja Luka; distance learning; digital competencies; COVID-19; media literacy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bilić, Paško (2023), Medijska pismenost građana Republike Hrvatske, Institut za razvoj i međunarodne odnose, Zagreb

Carretero Gomez, Stephanie, Riina Vuorikari, Yves Punie (2017), DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use, JRC Technical Report (EUR 28558 EN) – Publications Office of the European Union

Ciboci Perša, Lana (2023), ˝Stavovi učitelja razredne nastave i Hrvatskog jezika prema medijskom obrazovanju u hrvatskim osnovnim školama˝, Communication Management Review, 8(2), 66–83.

Digitalna transformacija Bosne i Hercegovine (2019), Spoljnotrgovinska komora Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo; https://www.komorabih.ba/wp- content/uploads/2019/09/Bro%C5%A1ura-Digitalizacija.pdf

Eshet-Alkali, Yoram, Yair Amichai-Hamburger (2004), ˝Experiments in digital literacy˝, CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 421–429,

European Training Foundation (2024), ETF survey on jobs & skills in the Western Balkans highlights the digital training gap; Dostupno na: https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/news-and-events/news/etf-survey-jobs-skills- western-balkans-highlights-digital-training-gap?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Ferrari, Anusca (2013), DIGCOMP: A framework for developing and understanding digital competence in Europe, European Commission, Joint Research Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

Golenko, Dejana, Ivana Martinović, Boris Badurina (2024), ˝Stavovi i mi- šljenja studenata Odsjeka za informacijske znanosti Filozofskog fakulteta u Osijeku o vlastitim digitalnim vještinama i ulozi visokoškolske knjižnice u digitalnom opismenjavanju˝, Vjesnik bibliotekara Hrvatske, 67(3), 25–52.

High-Level Colloquium on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning (2006), Report of a meeting, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt

Ibrahimbegović Tihak, Vanja (2015), ˝Kompetencije nastavnog kadra u BiH kao element razvoja medijske pismenosti’˝, u: Vanja Ibrahimbegović Tihak (ur.), Medijska pismenost u digitalnom dobu, Internewes u Bosni i Her- cegovini, Sarajevo, 131–159.

Ilomäki, Liisa, Anna Kantosalo, Minna Lakkala (2011), ˝What is digital competence?˝, u: Linked portal, European Schoolnet, Brussels; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266852332_What_is_digital_competence_In_Linked_portal_Brussels_European_Schoolnet_httplinkedeu- norgwebguestin-depth3

Kecman, Violeta (2023), Medijska pismenost i kritičko mišljenje, Clio, Beograd

Kuzminska, Olena, Mariia Mazorchuk, Nataliia Morze, Vitaliy Pavlenko, Aleksander Prokhorov (2019), ˝Study of Digital Competence of the Students and Teachers in Ukraine˝, u: Grigoris Antoniou, Vadim Ermolayev, Vitaliy Kobets, Vira Liubchenko, Heinrich Mayr, Aleksander Spivakovsky, Vitaliy Yakovyna, Grygoriy Zholtkevych (eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Education, Research, and Industrial Applications, ICTERI 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 1007, Springer, Cham.

Martinović, Ivana, Dejana Golenko, Boris Badurina (2025), ˝The Level of Digital Competencies Among Students at Two Croatian Universities: A Comparative Study˝, Education for Information, 41(4)

Myyry, Liisa, Terhi Karaharju-Suvanto, Anna Maija Virtala, Marja R. Raekallio, Outi Salminen, Marjo Vesalainen, Anne Nevgi (2022), ˝How self- efficacy beliefs are related to assessment practices: a study of experienced university teachers˝, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(1), 155–168,

Otto, Sofie, Lykke Brogaard Bertel, Niels Erik Ruan Lyngdorf, Anna Overgaard Markman, Thomas Andersen, Thomas Ryberg (2024), ˝Emerging digital practices supporting student-centered learning environments in higher education: A review of literature and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic˝, Education and Information Technologies, 29, 1673–1696.

Pokhrel, Sumitra, Roshan Chhetri (2021), ˝A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning˝, Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133–141.

Popović, Dušanka (2022), ˝Medijska pismenost – od namjere do realizacije˝, u: Dušanka Popović (ur.), Medijska pismenost, The European Wergeland Center - Univerzitet Crne Gore, Filološki fakultet, Oslo/Nikšić, 1-4.

Rahimi, Amir Reza, Zahra Mosalli (2024), ˝The role of 21st-century digital competence in shaping pre-service language teachers’ 21st-century digital skills: The partial least squares modeling approach (PLS-SEM)˝, Journal of Computers in Education, 12, 165–189.

Røkenes, Fredrik Mørk, Rune Johan Krumsvik (2014), ˝Development of student teachers’ digital competence in teacher education˝, Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 9(4), 250–280.

Schaal, Tom, Tim Tischendorf, Oksana Sydorenko, Makhabat Karagulova, Ruslan Chettykbayev, H. Cristian Brauweiler (2025), ˝Self-assessed vs. reported digital competence among health students in Germany, Ukraine and Kazakhstan: A DigComp 2.2-based cross-sectional study˝, Frontiers in Health Services, 5, 1673120.

Sintema, Edgar John (2020), ˝Effect of COVID-19 on the performance of grade 12 students: Implications for STEM education˝, Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(7), em1851.

Syahrin, Syerina, Khalid Almashiki, Eman Alzaanin (2023), ˝The impact of COVID-19 on digital competence: A case study of preservice teacher education students in the Sultanate of Oman˝, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 14(1), 511–519.

Ting, Yu Liang (2015), ˝Tapping into students’ digital literacy and designing negotiated learning to promote learner autonomy˝, Internet and Higher Education, 26, 25–32.

UNESCO (2011), UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers; https://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214694.pdf

UNESCO (2020), COVID-19 educational disruption and response; https:// www.unesco.org/en/articles/covid-19-educational-disruption-and-response

Vashchenko, Veronika (2024), Teachers of Bosnia & Herzegovina: The driving force behind the digital transformation in education, UNICEF; Dostupno na: https://www.unicef.org/bih/en/stories/teachers-bosnia- herzegovina-driving-force-behind-digital-transformation-education

Vishnu, Sreeram, Archana Raghavan Sathyan, Anu Susan Sam, Aparna Radhakrishnan, Ragavan Sulaja Olaparambil, Kandathil Jasna Vattam, Christoph Funk (2022), ˝Digital competence of higher education learners in the context of COVID-19 triggered online learning˝, Social Sciences & Humanities Open, Volume 6, Issue 1.

Vuorikari, Riina, Stefano Kluzer, Yves Punie (2022), DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes, European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

Zec, Marina (2021), ˝Usklađenost definisanja razvoja medijske pismenosti u okviru Strategije razvoja sistema javnog informisanja u Republici Srbiji za period 2020–2025 sa preporukama međunarodne organizacije UNESKO za razvoj politika i strategija informacione i medijske pismenosti, CM: Communication and Media, 16(50), 253–279.

Žuvić, Marta, Barbara Brečko, Elena Krelja Kurelović, Draženka Galošević, Neven Pintarić (2016), Okvir za digitalnu kompetenciju korisnika u školi: Učitelja/nastavnika i stručnih suradnika, ravnatelja i administrativnoga osoblja, Hrvatska akademska i istraživačka mreža – CARNet, Zagreb




DOI: https://doi.org/10.51558/2490-3647.2026.11.1.1007

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN: 2490-3604 (print) ● ISSN: 2490-3647 (online)

Društvene i humanističke studije - DHS is under the Creative Commons licence.