Beyond Adoption: Faculty Digital Literacy in Higher Education — Bibliometric Mapping (2010–2024)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61799/2216-0388.2074Keywords:
Teacher digital appropriation, digital competence, higher education, teacher training, digital literacy, technology integration, bibliometrics.Abstract
In recent years, teacher digital appropriation in higher education has gained increasing relevance, as it helps explain how technologies move beyond being merely instrumental tools and become meaningfully and contextually embedded in academic practice. However, the available literature remains fragmented, heavily concentrated on digital competence frameworks, and still offers limited representation of border contexts and the Global South. Against this background, this study conducted a bibliometric analysis of global scientific production on teacher digital appropriation from 2010 to 2024, based on 742 articles indexed in Scopus and selected through an adapted PRISMA 2020 protocol, with data processed using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. The findings revealed sustained exponential growth in the field, with particularly strong expansion since 2018 and a peak in 2024. They also showed a marked geographical concentration in Spain and a thematic structure largely organized around the digital competence–teacher training axis. In addition, recent and still weakly internationalized collaboration networks were identified, together with a limited explicit presence of the appropriation construct in author keywords. This points to an important theoretical paradox: the field has progressed further in measuring competences than in explaining processes of situated pedagogical transformation. Overall, the results suggest that teacher digital appropriation is an emerging field in the process of consolidation, yet still shaped by territorial, conceptual, and institutional asymmetries that call for a priority research agenda in peripheral, border, and organizationally unequal settings.
Downloads
References
[1] J. Rosak-Szyrocka, “The era of digitalization in education where do Universities 4.0 go?,” Management Systems in Production Engineering, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 72–80, 2024, doi: 10.2478/mspe-2024-0006.
[2] N. T. Phuong, H. T. Nguyen, T. H. Nguyen, Q. H. Pham, and T. P. T. Dao, “Digital transformation in education: A bibliometric analysis using Scopus,” European Science Editing, vol. 49, p. e107138, 2023, doi: 10.3897/ese.2023.e107138.
[3] Y. Wang and D. He, “A bibliometric analysis on research trends of digital literacy in higher education from 2012 to 2021,” International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 17, no. 16, pp. 43–58, 2022, doi: 10.3991/ijet.v17i16.31377.
[4] C. A. Hernández-Suárez, J. D. Hernández-Albarracín, and J. Rodríguez-Moreno, “Preparación tecnológica, adaptación a la enseñanza remota y uso de TIC en la postpandemia: Un modelo de regresión logística para docentes colombianos,” Eco Matemático, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 71–85, 2024, doi: 10.22463/17948231.4575.
[5] D. F. Barragán Giraldo and J. C. Amador Báquiro, “Appropriation of ICT in the educational field: Approach to public policy in Colombia years 2000-2019,” Digital Education Review, no. 37, pp. 109–129, 2020, doi: 10.1344/der.2020.37.109-129.
[6] A. B. Boateng and S. Tindi, “Technology appropriation in higher education: The case of communication educators in Ghana,” Integrated Journal for Research in Arts and Humanities, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 1–8, 2022, doi: 10.55544/ijrah.2.2.12.
[7] S. Miras, M. Ruiz-Bañuls, I. M. Gómez-Trigueros, and C. Mateo-Guillén, “Implications of the digital divide: A systematic review of its impact in the educational field,” Journal of Technology and Science Education, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 936–950, 2023, doi: 10.3926/jotse.2249.
[8] M. Córdoba, R. R. Portela, and A. L. Pérez Córdoba, “Desafios do ensino universitário com tecnologias digitais no Brasil e na Colômbia durante a covid-19,” Revista Docência do Ensino Superior, vol. 15, p. e52731, 2025, doi: 10.35699/2237-5864.2025.52731.
[9] C. A. Hernández-Suárez, J. K. Guevara-Jiménez, and J. Rodríguez-Moreno, “Desigualdades en la educación superior en tiempos de COVID-19,” Perspectivas, vol. 8, no. S1, pp. 361–373, 2023, doi: 10.22463/25909215.4153.
[10] J. Jaramillo-Benítez, J. O. Hernández-Peñaranda, and J. F. Rincón-Leal, “Uso de plataformas digitales para la enseñanza de la física en estudiantes universitarios,” Eco Matemático, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 81–86, 2020, doi: 10.22463/17948231.3204.
[11] J. A. Zamora-Araya, J. Ramírez-Jiménez, and F. Delgado-Navarro, “Uso de herramientas tecnológicas y su impacto en el rendimiento en el curso de Cálculo II de la Universidad Nacional,” Eco Matemático, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 20–30, 2020, doi: 10.22463/17948231.2952.
[12] H. Muñoz-Hernández, J. D. Canabal-Guzmán, and D. E. Galarcio-Guevara, “Realidad aumentada para la educación de matemática financiera. Una app para el mejoramiento del rendimiento académico universitario,” Revista Científica Profundidad Construyendo Futuro, vol. 12, no. 12, pp. 37–44, 2020, doi: 10.22463/24221783.2634.
[13] A. M. Omar and M. O. Abdullahi, “A bibliometric analysis of sustainable digital transformation in developing countries’ higher education,” Frontiers in Education, vol. 9, p. 1441644, 2024, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1441644.
[14] S. R. Kadri, A. Kadri, I. Fantazi, and N. El Afri, “The use of digital technology in university learning through a bibliometric approach,” International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science, vol. 2, no. 42, 2024, doi: 10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30062024/8132.
[15] N. Donthu, S. Kumar, D. Mukherjee, N. Pandey, and W. M. Lim, “How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines,” Journal of Business Research, vol. 133, pp. 285–296, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070.
[16] M. J. Page et al., “The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews,” BMJ, vol. 372, p. n71, 2021, doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71.
[17] M. Aria and C. Cuccurullo, “bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis,” Journal of Informetrics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 959–975, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007.
[18] N. J. van Eck and L. Waltman, “Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping,” Scientometrics, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 523–538, 2010, doi: 10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3.
[19] C. Redecker and Y. Punie, European framework for the digital competence of educators: DigCompEdu. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017, doi: 10.2760/159770.
[20] M. Bond, V. I. Marín, C. Dolch, S. Bedenlier, and O. Zawacki-Richter, “Digital transformation in German higher education: Student and teacher perceptions and usage of digital media,” International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, vol. 15, no. 1, Art. no. 48, 2018, doi: 10.1186/s41239-018-0130-1.
[21] Y. Zhao, A. M. Pinto-Llorente, and M. C. Sánchez-Gómez, “Digital competence in higher education research: A systematic literature review,” Computers & Education, vol. 168, Art. no. 104212, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104212.
[22] C. K. Y. Chan and K. K. W. Lee, “The AI generation gap: Are Gen Z students more interested in adopting generative AI such as ChatGPT in teaching and learning than their Gen X and millennial generation teachers?,” Smart Learning Environments, vol. 10, no. 1, Art. no. 60, 2023, doi: 10.1186/s40561-023-00269-3.
[23] T. Buchanan, P. Sainter, and G. Saunders, “Factors affecting faculty use of learning technologies: Implications for models of technology adoption,” Journal of Computing in Higher Education, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1–11, 2013, doi: 10.1007/s12528-013-9066-6.
[24] S. Tejedor, L. Cervi, A. Pérez-Escoda, and F. Tusa, “Digital literacy and higher education during COVID-19 lockdown: Spain, Italy, and Ecuador,” Publications, vol. 8, no. 4, Art. no. 48, 2020, doi: 10.3390/publications8040048.
[25] C. Damşa, M. Langford, D. Uehara, and R. Scherer, “Teachers’ agency and online education in times of crisis,” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 121, Art. no. 106793, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2021.106793.
[26] J. Portillo-Berasaluce, U. Garay-Ruiz, E. Tejada-Garitano, and N. Bilbao-Quintana, “Self-perception of the digital competence of educators during the COVID-19 pandemic among education faculty in Spain,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 23, Art. no. 10128, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su122310128.
[27] A.-M. Rodríguez-García, J.-M. Trujillo-Torres, and J. Sánchez-Rodríguez, “Impact of scientific productivity on digital competence of future teachers: Bibliometric analysis on Scopus and Web of Science,” Pixel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación, no. 54, pp. 37–55, 2019, doi: 10.12795/pixelbit.2019.i54.04.
[28] J. Cabero-Almenara, J.-J. Gutiérrez-Castillo, A. Palacios-Rodríguez, and J. Barroso-Osuna, “Development of the teacher digital competence validation of DigCompEdu check-in questionnaire in the university context of Andalusia (Spain),” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 15, Art. no. 6094, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12156094.
[29] M. Domingo-Coscollola, A. Bosco, S. C. Carrasco-Segovia, and J.-A. Sánchez-Valero, “Fostering teacher’s digital competence at university: The perception of students and teachers,” Revista de Investigación Educativa, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 167–182, 2020, doi: 10.6018/rie.393101.
[30] E. dos S. Perin, M. do C. D. Freitas, and T. R. Coelho, “Digital teaching competence model: Bibliometrics and literature review,” Educação em Revista, vol. 39, Art. no. e35344, 2023, doi: 10.1590/0102-469835344t.
[31] M. L. García-Rodríguez, A. H. Ortiz-García, and J. Enríquez-Velázquez, “La investigación sobre el uso de tecnologías digitales en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las matemáticas: una revisión desde las memorias de los congresos en la última década,” Eco Matemático, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 90–103, 2020, doi: 10.22463/17948231.2597.
[32] H. Liu, C.-H. Lin, and D. Zhang, “Pedagogical beliefs and attitudes toward ICT: A survey of EFL teachers in China,” Computer Assisted Language Learning, vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 745–765, 2017, doi: 10.1080/09588221.2017.1347572.
[33] R. Arissaputra, A. Sobandi, S. Sentika, M. A. Sultan, and N. P. N. P. Wijaya, “Trend analysis using bibliometric study on digital literacy in education,” International Journal of Humanities Education and Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 1637–1645, 2023, doi: 10.55227/ijhess.v3i3.667
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mundo FESC Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
