Undergraduate students' perspectives on digital competence and academic literacy in a Spanish University

Recent studies show that students' digital competence is part of a process of academic literacy that requires the development of information and ICT literacies. This article attempts to analyse digital competence and the development of information and ICT literacies in relation to academic literacy practices which take place in the learning process in undergraduate studies. Data were collected through completion of self-report questionnaires asking about the writing and reading practices and the process of literacy development in university students. The survey was completed by a sample of 786 students in the School of Education. The data obtained were analysed using the techniques of principal components analysis and discriminant analysis. The results describe the ICT and information literacies in literacy practices of the participants, and their relation to the academic literacy process that takes place at university. The results have allowed us to assess the processes for the development of ICT and information literacies and their relationship to academic literacy. Our study indicates a wide gap between digital competence developed in informal learning contexts and its scarcity in university literacy practices (formal learning settings). In general, Spanish University academic practices do not incorporate ICT and information literacies processes as a part of students' academic literacy. Deficient ICT and informational literacies may lead to difficulties in the professional development of teachers.