From Digital Competence to Collaborative Knowledge Construction: The Role of Social Presence in Online Learning Environments

ABSTRACT Background Collaborative knowledge construction (CKC) is an important process in online higher education, requiring students to communicate, share information, and collectively develop knowledge through digital environments. Although digital competence (DC) may be relevant to these processes, CKC also depends on the social and interpersonal conditions reflected in social presence (SP). However, limited research has examined how DC and SP jointly relate to CKC in online learning. Objective This study examined the relationships among university students' perceived DC, SP, and CKC and investigated whether SP accounted for part of the relationship between DC and CKC in online learning environments. Methods A total of 341 students at a public university in Iran reported on their overall synchronous online‐learning experiences during the 2024–2025 academic year. DC encompassed information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and digital content creation, while SP included affective expression, open communication, and group cohesion. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the proposed relationships, and bootstrapping was employed to assess the indirect association between DC and CKC through SP. Results Perceived DC was positively associated with CKC ( β = 0.27, p < 0.001) and SP ( β = 0.47, p < 0.001), while SP was positively associated with CKC ( β = 0.61, p < 0.001). The model explained 21.6% of the variance in SP and 60.2% of the variance in CKC. DC also showed a significant indirect association with CKC through SP ( β = 0.29, 95% BC CI [0.21, 0.38]), while the direct association remained significant, a pattern consistent with partial statistical mediation. Conclusions The findings suggest that the relationship between perceived DC and CKC is partly socially embedded. Perceived DC was related to CKC both directly and indirectly through SP, indicating that digital capabilities and interpersonal conditions may jointly matter for online CKC. Online learning may therefore benefit from combining support for students' DC with collaborative activities that foster meaningful interaction, interpersonal connection, and collective knowledge development.