Students’ digital literacy: competence-based approach

Analyzing innovation processes in Russia, we should note that all of them are aimed at developing the potential of the digital economy and, to some extent, contribute to increasing competitiveness, ensuring economic growth, strengthening the national sovereignty of the state and improving citizens’ quality of life. Under the current circumstances, digitalization affects aspects of company management and the modernization of technological processes that determine the development of production. Moreover, the digital transformation of the industrial sector requires improving the quality of professional training. It is important for university graduates to master information and communication technologies to maintain the intellectual and creative potential, making professional decisions, while taking into account the economic, moral aspects of the innovative development of society. This issue is actively discussed at the international expert level: in the leading analytical centers of the UN1, in the World

Economic Forums2, Worldskills3, in reputable international scientific publications (Belshaw, 2016; Gil-Garcia et al., 2017; Kullaslahti et al., 2019; Mersiyanova et al., 2022).

The President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin noted at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2017): “We intend to multiply the number of specialists in the digital economy and, in fact, we will have to address quite a broad challenge, a national-level challenge – to achieve general digital literacy” (Dolidze, Cherdakov, 2018). Thus, the head of state indicated the importance of implementing the program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation” of July 28, 2017 1632-r, which by RF Government Resolution became the main focus of the country’s strategic development for 2017–20304.

Before the adoption of the program, the development of digital literacy received somewhat superficial attention, which caused risks in the use of digital technology by the population in practice. It is the implementation of the program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation” provided an opportunity for the wide application of the “digital literacy” concept. The use of information technology as a technological means of communication, a kind of tool for creating a digital educational space contributes to the formation of skills required for human existence in a digitized world. The program defines that the share of the population with digital competencies should be 40%. However, in reality, the pace of digitalization is a little bit ahead of the Russians’ digital skills.

Moreover, the process of digitalization of society is addressed in federal strategic documents: Presidential Decree 203 of May 9, 2017 “On the Strategy for the Development of Information Society in the Russian Federation for 2017– 2030”; the project “Modern Digital Educational Environment in the Russian Federation” in the context of the state program “Development of Education”5. The Strategy for Information Society Development states the importance of “developing innovative educational technologies, including distance and e-learning”6. In modern conditions, the problem of expanding digital consumption and the formation of a digital culture is becoming more and more relevant. The education system has a significant role in the process of digital competence formation7. Thus, the federal project “Digital Learning Environment” states the need to update the content of education and create opportunities for students to freely navigate in the digital space. It is important to understand that digital literacy as a set of specific knowledge and skills becomes an integral element of professional and general cultural competence of the person. Moreover, in order to adapt to the new trends in social relations, the education system must restructure its content using new teaching methods and techniques. It is for a reason that, the state program “Development of Education for 2018-2025” focuses on the need to equip educational institutions with online services for the implementation of vocational education programs in the context of digital transformation8. In this case, the strategic task is to train competent personnel to operate in the digital economy. At the same time, we should emphasize the important role of pedagogical support for the media platforms, digital technologies in the educational process, giving flexibility to the learning opportunities of students, raising them to the center of the networked world and contributing to their readiness for professional and personal self-development.

As we see, in the context of the era of digital education, the process of digital literacy development among students becomes relevant. On the one hand, it is caused by the widespread use of digital technology in society, and on the other hand, by a lack of readiness to safely perceive and use digital content. In our opinion, this is what determines the need for scientific understanding of the new possibilities of information and educational environment of universities for the digital literacy formation, and the study, the purpose of which is to identify the level of students’ digital competence formation in the higher education system (on the example of the Chelyabinsk Oblast). Nowadays, it is important for universities to form digital competencies and to train future specialists for working in the digital world. In the study, we set tasks for theoretical generalization and systematization of scientific approaches to the study of digital literacy; substantiation of its most important components; identification of criteria and the level of formation of digital competence among students of universities of the Chelyabinsk.