Digital Competence Development in Public Administration Higher Education

Abstract

Today, citizens’ digital readiness and competence are competitive factors. While users with a high level of digital competence are usually associated with intensive and conscious use by consumers, those with a lower level of competence are characterized by passive consumer use and lagging in technology. It is essential to continuously develop and monitor competence levels because digital skills, the way digital tools are used, and the effects of use are interlinked. The importance of digital competence is also evident in public administration because its presence affects the quality of public services, which has an impact on the entire population. In this social aspect, digital competence is extremely important for public administration employees. In our study, we aim to investigate the input competence level of undergraduate (BA) students in public administration, and the output competence level reached after one semester in targeted training. We analyze the values in several dimensions and draw conclusions. When measuring digital competence, we relied on the EU reference material, the Citizen Digital Competence Framework, based on digital competence areas and proficiency levels such as information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving. The DigCompSat self-assessment questionnaire was used for the survey. The result of the study was an order of magnitude difference between the self-assessment and the real level of competence of the students. It can be useful for respondents to realize where they have gaps in their knowledge and competence. This is what is referred to as a ’change in attitude‘ in our study. There are factors related to gender, age, and prior training that influence the potential shifts between the segments. It was also found that the above factors applied differently in each range of competence. Concerning implementation of this research, it can be assumed that the larger amplitude movements may not necessarily be knowledge or skills, but rather ’changes in attitude’. Its practical importance might lie in the possibility to orient students.