Digital gaps in students’ digital literacy: the role of school and informal agents of cybersocialization

The study monitored the level of digital literacy of students in various educational institutions of the general and vocational education system in order to identify digital gaps and analyze the influence of cybersocialization agents. To determine the levels, test tasks based on the adapted DigComp methodology were used. Test tasks were operationalized for individual digital literacy profiles and levels of education. About 3 thousand schoolchildren and about 600 students of the secondary vocational education system from the Tomsk region took part in the testing. In addition to testing, students assessed their competencies and the influence of cybersocialization agents during a sociological survey. A significant digital gap was discovered between the levels of digital literacy in the systems of general education and secondary vocational education. In the presence of some general consistency of individual digital literacy profiles, certain interdisciplinary gaps in the digital literacy of students were identified, which arose as a result of insufficient training in digital competencies of communication, cybersecurity and problem solving in formal educational institutions. The influence of teachers and teachers in the field of general and vocational education on the formation of certain aspects of digital literacy in formal educational institutions turns out to be insufficient; the influence of family and peers, friends within the framework of informal communication “as equals” in some digital contexts turns out to be decisive. Researching digital divides and adjusting educational policies will help create equal opportunities for all students and ensure their successful inclusion in the digital world.