Digital literacy of Information systems and E-archive Program students (Faculty of Arts, Beni Suef University) in the light of the European Digital Competence Framework: An applied study

This study aims to investigate the level of digital literacy in students of the Information Systems and E-Archives Program (Faculty of Arts, Beni Suef University), in the light of DigComp 2.2, the second version of the Digital Competence Framework (issued by JRC, the European Commission’s science and knowledge service). It also aims to distinguish between digital literacy and other related concepts, shedding light on the reasons why it always overlaps in people’s minds with these concepts, the consequence being that it is not yet established as a technical term. The study follows a descriptive-analytic approach, surveying a purposive sample of the third and fourth year students of the aforementioned program. The study concludes that there is no one established definition of digital literacy, as any definition seems to lag behind the developments taking place in the field of technology almost on a daily basis. The study also shows that digital literacy, with all its five aspects, is remarkably high among the population of the study. The students in the sample of the study have the highest scores on the second aspect of the framework, which has to do with awareness of digitally-aided processes of communication and cooperation (with an average of 94.57). The second aspect, which has to do with students’ awareness of information and data in the digital environment, comes second (with an average of 86.25). The fourth aspect, which has to do with awareness concerning digital safety and security, came third, with an average of 84. 99. The fifth aspect, which has to do with students’ ability to solve technical problems in the digital environment, came fourth (average: 84.43). The third aspect, which has to do with awareness pertaining to creating digital content, came last (average: 81. 03). The study recommends that the obstacles discussed in it be addressed so that students can get the type of education, training and practice they aspire to have, and be qualified for today’s jobs, where digital capabilities and skills are an indispensible prerequisite.