Assessing 21st century digital literacies in Japanese higher education

This study examines how the seven digital learner profiles included in the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for students apply to 193 participants in Japan, utilizing a questionnaire developed by Mills and White (2023). These profiles explore a broad range of 21st century digital skills, competencies, and literacies essential for learners to be successful in this digital age, and include both creativity and communication. The results revealed positive identification with the learner profiles (M=3.874). While Japanese learners are often found to lack digital skills, the highest mean values were associated with the profiles of Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor, and Computational Thinker. In contrast, the profiles of Empowered Learner, Innovative Designer, Creative Communicator, and Global Collaborator demonstrated lower mean values, particularly in more creative and communicative aspects. To ensure students are well-prepared for the digital era, therefore, fostering creativity and communication skills is crucial. There have been a lack of studies that measure the various aspects of 21st century digital skills (van Laar et al., 2020), and this study aims to add to the literature.