Digital Literacy Competence Development for Education for Sustainable Development
By Cloneria Jatileni & Joseph Njiku
Digital literacy and competencies are becoming more in demand in various fields and the labour market. Education is one such field where digital literacy is essential. However, in the education sector, digital literacy is needed to run educational activities, and where it is nurtured and developed. It is a sector where digital literacy is cultivated. In this post, we highlight how digital learning for sustainability is understood in teacher education literature and how digital learning supports teacher education (see, for example, Ličen & Prosen, 2024; Mellingen, 2024; Rasdiana & Nurhadi, 2024). We also discuss four ways to develop digital literacy in education for ESD and highlighted the common digital literacy competencies for ESD.
Digital Learning for ESD in Teacher Education
Digital learning for sustainability involves developing relevant competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values) for integrating technology into teaching and learning. It involves equipping prospective teachers with robust digital competencies for online and blended learning modes. It is also about promoting digital competences for professional development and higher education resilience and adaptability.
Figure 1
Digital Learning Competences Word Cloud
Digital technology impacts teachers’ education through digital learning in many ways. Based on the results of the systematic review presented in Figure 1, we found that in teacher education, digital learning competences contribute to value addition and the transformation of instructional practices, including engagement, assessment, access, collaboration, and feedback. This enables teacher education to address sustainability elements such as inclusivity, collaboration beyond the classroom, environmental conservation awareness, and increased interactivity. To develop digital learning competences, especially digital literacy, different models have been used. We present four models below, from the most traditional one to the most integrative.
Ways of Developing Digital Literacy
- Having an ICT course in the college curriculum
Early efforts to develop digital literacy included introducing courses in school or college curricula as an independent course. Such courses were intended to develop skills related to computer use for general purposes. In this model, students learn basic computer skills like using application software, performing software installations, and using the internet. Whereas these courses are relevant in developing digital literacy, they do not focus on enhancing teaching and learning across the curriculum.
- ICT integration in teaching and learning courses
The limitation of the preceding model is that it does not directly focus on using ICT to improve instruction of courses across the curriculum. To address this, courses to develop ICT integration skills in teaching and learning exist. The courses provide students with ways to use ICT to teach or learn. Students are expected to use the knowledge and skills they develop from the courses to teach or learn other courses across the curriculum. However, this model may lack depth, practical experience and direct relevance to specific courses.
- Mainstreaming ICT integration in all courses
Including ICT integration elements in all courses strengthens their relevance, especially in subject-specific digital resources. This model allows every course to have an aspect of technology integration to develop digital literacy in the study area. However, the model may lack practical experience since teachers may not directly engage students in an actual ICT engagement learning environment.
- ICT enhance instruction in all courses
This model involves teaching and learning through ICT. All courses may have activities that engage students in ICT-enhanced activities. Teachers deliver the lesson using ICT, and students access learning resources and activities using ICT. Interaction between the teacher and students and among students can also be done in virtual learning environments. Through this model, students develop the ability to perform educational activities using ICT. This ability is relevant to both college training and post-college endeavours. Thus, the ability includes multiple competencies pertinent to learning and the workplace.
Digital Literacy competence in the 21st Century: A Cornerstone for Equitable and Sustainable Education
In today’s rapidly evolving digital age, digital literacy is no longer a luxury it’s a fundamental skill. As part of the FUTE initiative, our work emphasises the urgent need to equip educators, teacher trainers and students with digital competence that goes beyond basic usage. But what exactly is digital literacy, and why does it matter in education, particularly in the contexts of collaborations between African and European universities? Digital literacy is the ability to use digital technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information effectively and responsibly. While today’s students are often seen as tech-savvy “digital natives,” this doesn’t automatically translate to digital literacy. The distinction between knowing how to use technology and understanding its ethical, evaluative, and communicative dimensions is critical.
There are frameworks guiding digital literacy both in Africa and in Europe. The African Union’s Digital Education Strategy (2023–2028) is aligned with the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, while the AU’s plan focuses on: digital technology appropriation in education, education in digital technology for empowered citizens and building digital infrastructure capacity. It further outlines 9 strategic objectives and 14 implementation measures, emphasising the need for inclusivity, teacher support, safe use, and curriculum alignment. On the other hand, the European Union’s DigComp Framework has the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp). It defined digital competence as a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes for confident, critical, and responsible technology use. It further outlines five areas and 21 competences ranging from information literacy to problem-solving and digital safety.
Digital literacy matters in African education as much as it does in the European education and it is crucial for our collaboration. It is pivotal for enabling inclusive, quality education across the continents. With growing access to mobile devices and internet services even in rural areas, there’s a unique opportunity to leverage technology to bridge educational gaps. However, this requires intentional focus on: teacher training and support, accessible and culturally relevant digital content, ethical and safe use of technologies, digital assessments and feedback systems. It also means recognising the role of local languages, indigenous knowledge systems, and diverse pedagogical traditions in shaping how technology is integrated into teaching and learning.
Sohaya (2020) highlighted the importance of digital literacy alongside the 4Cs of 21st-century education which are: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration, emphasising that digital literacy goes hand in hand with these core skills. These are not just buzzwords, they are the skills that students and educators alike must master to thrive in digitally connected and knowledge-driven societies. For the African and European countries, and indeed globally, building digital literacy is not just about catching up with technological trends, it’s about empowering citizens, transforming learning, and supporting sustainable development goals. Whether through the AU’s strategic vision, or EU-led DigComp guidance, the message is clear: digital competence is the new literacy. Let us invest in teachers, infrastructure, inclusive content, and forward-thinking policies because digital transformation in education starts with digital literacy.
Refer to:
Ličen, S., & Prosen, M. (2024). Strengthening sustainable higher education with digital technologies: development and validation of a digital competence scale for university teachers (DCS-UT). Sustainability, 16(22), 9937.
Mellingen, Ø. K. (2024). “Because they have technology”: A comparative study of sustainable development discourses among secondary school teachers in Tanzania and Norway.
Rasdiana, R., & Nurhadi, T. (2024). The effect of digital leadership in nurturing teachers’ innovation skills for sustainable technology integration mediated by professional learning communities. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(10).
Sohaya, E. M. (2020, November). Blended learning and 4Cs: Trends in the new normal life of education, globalization and the next decade. In The 5th Annual International Seminar on Transformative Education and Educational Leadership (AISTEEL 2020) (pp. 77-81). Atlantis Press.
https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/scientific-activities/education-and-training/digital-transformation-education/digital-competence-framework-citizens-digcomp/digcomp-framework_en
https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/42416-doc-1._DES_EN_-_2022_09_14.pdf