Digital Teaching Competence in Higher Education: Tensions, Approaches, and Contemporary Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53382/issn.2810-7977.41Keywords:
digital teaching competence, higher education, teacher professional development, digital transformation, university teachingAbstract
The digital revolution has significantly transformed university teaching, positioning teachers’ digital competence as a crucial component for ensuring the quality and relevance of higher education. Within this context, this article aims to examine how recent scientific literature defines and critically addresses digital teaching competence in higher education. The study was conducted through a bibliographic review with a qualitative–interpretative approach, focusing on the analysis of article abstracts indexed in the Scopus (n = 558) and Web of Science (n = 571) databases, published between 2020 and 2025. Following a comparative reading, the results were organized into four analytical dimensions: conceptualizations of teachers’ digital competence; configuration of the pedagogical role of university teachers; professional development and training; and emerging tensions alongside future projections. The findings reveal the coexistence of normative approaches and critical pedagogical perspectives, as well as training gaps and institutional challenges associated with the digitalization of university teaching. It is concluded that teachers’ digital competence should be understood as a dynamic, contextualized, and ethically grounded construct, whose strengthening requires comprehensive training strategies and sustained pedagogical reflection in higher education.
Downloads
References
Basilotta-Gómez-Pablos, V., Mantaranz, M., Casado-Aranda, A., & Otto, A. (2022). Teachers’ digital competencies in higher education: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00312-8
Bond, M., Buntins, K., Bedenlier, S., Zawacki-Richter, O., & Kerres, M. (2020). Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 17, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0176-8
Cabero-Almenara, J., Gutiérrez-Castillo, J.-J., Palacios-Rodríguez, A., & Barroso-Osuna, J. (2020). Development of the Teacher Digital Competence Validation of DigCompEduCheck-In Questionnaire in the University Context of Andalusia (Spain). Sustainability, 12(15), 6094. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156094
Caviglia, F., Boie, M. A. K., Dalsgaard, C., & Pedersen, A. Y. (2024). Bringing digital competence to the disciplines. Education Inquiry, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2024.2318842
Esteve, F., Llopis, M. A., & Adell, J. (2020). Digital teaching competence of university teachers: A systematic review of the literature. IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologías del Aprendizaje (RITA), 15(4), 399–406. https://doi.org/10.1109/RITA.2020.3033225
European Commission, Joint Research Centre. (2024). DigCompEdu in initial and continuing teacher education: Insights for policy and practice. Publications Office of the European Union.URL: https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcompedu_en
Falloon, G. (2020). From digital literacy to digital competence: the teacher digital competency (TDC) framework. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(5), 2449-2472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09767-4
Fernández, J., Cabero, J., & Fernández, J. (2025). Competencia digital docente como apoyo al alumnado con discapacidad. Un estudio en la Educación Superior de Andalucía (España). Aula Abierta, 54(1), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.21701
García-Peñalvo, F. J., Corell, A., Abella-García, V., & Grande, M. (2020). La evaluación online en la educación superior en tiempos de la COVID-19. Education in the Knowledge Society (EKS), 21, 26. https://doi.org/10.14201/eks.23086
Gatete, O. (2025). Revisiting TPACK: A Critical Review and Contextual Extension for the Digital Age. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00472395251382942
Gonscherowski, P., & Rott, B. (2025). A systematic review of the literature on TPACK instruments used with pre-service teachers from 2017 to 2023 focused on selecting digital resources. J. Comput. Educ.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-025-00379-6
Hidalgo-Cajo, B. G. (2020). Aceptación docente de las tecnologías digitales en la educación superior: Evolución y uso desde los modelos y las teorías que la explican. UTE Teaching & Technology (Universitas Tarraconensis), 1(2), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.17345/ute.2020.2.2860
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1809650
Nagel, I. (2021). Digital Competence in Teacher Education Curricula : What Should Teacher Educators Know, Be Aware of and Prepare Students for?. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 5(4), 104–122. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.4228
OECD (2024). TALIS 2022 Results (Volume I): Teachers as Lifelong Learners. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://www.oecd.org/education/talis/talis-2022-results-volume-i-teachers-as-lifelong-learners/
Palacios-Rodríguez, A., Llorente-Cejudo, C., Lucas, M., & Bem-haja, P. (2025). Macroassessment of teachers’ digital competence. DigCompEdu study in Spain and Portugal. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1), 177–196. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.1.41379
Rapanta, C., Botturi, L., Goodyear, P., Guàrdia, L., & Koole, M. (2020). Online University Teaching During and After the Covid-19 Crisis: Refocusing Teacher Presence and Learning Activity. Postdigit Sci Educ 2, 923–945 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00155-y
Scherer, R., Howard, S. K., Tondeur, J., & Siddiq, F. (2021). Profiling teachers’ readiness for online teaching. Computers in Human Behavior, 118, 106675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106675
Starkey, L. (2020). A review of research exploring teacher preparation for the digital age. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1625867
Sun, Y., & Yan, Z. (2025). Factors influencing teachers’ technology adoption in technology-rich classrooms: model development and test. Education Tech Research Dev 73, 1481–1496. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-025-10454-5
Teräs, M., Suoranta, J., Teräs, H., & Curcher, M. (2020). Post-Covid-19 Education and Education Technology ‘Solutionism’: a Seller’s Market. Postdigit Sci Educ 2, 863–878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00164-x
Tondeur, J., Aesaert, K., Prestridge, S., & Consuegra, E. (2020). A multilevel analysis of what matters in the training of pre-service teacher's ICT competencies. Computers & Education, 1222, 32-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.03.002
Trujillo-Juárez, SI., Chaparro-Sánchez, R., Morita-Alexander, A. Escudero-Nahón, A., & Delgado-González, A. (2025). Strengthening teacher digital competence in higher education through micro-courses: a systematic literature review. Discov Educ. 4, 247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00687-0
Trust, T., & Prestridge, S. (2021). The interplay of five elements of influence on educators’ PLN actions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 97, 103195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103195
UNESCO. (2021). Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54675/ASRB4722
UNESCO. (2023). Global Education Monitoring Report 2023: Technology in education – A tool on whose terms? UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54676/UZQV850
Weller, M. (2020). 25 years of ed tech. Athabasca University Press. https://doi.org/10.15215/aupress/9781771993050.01
Widajati, W., & Mahmudah, S. (2023). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and Digital E-Scaffolding for Special School Teachers. Studies in Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 296-305. https://doi.org/10.46627/silet.v4i2.26
Williamson, B., Eynon, R., & Potter, J. (2020). Pandemic politics, pedagogies and practices: digital technologies and distance education during the coronavirus emergency. Learning, Media and Technology, 45(2), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1761641
Zawacki-Richter, O. (2020). The current state and impact of Covid-19 on digital higher education in Germany. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.238
Zhao, Y., Pinto, A., & Sánchez, M. (2021). Digital competence in higher education research: A systematic literature review. Computers & Education, 168, 104212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104212
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista TSup
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.