The article Digital Competence and Content Creation at University: Influence of Ownership and Region, by María de Lourdes Ferrando-Rodríguez, Diana Marín-Suelves, Vicente Gabarda Méndez, and Jesús Ramón-Llin Más, examines the digital competence of Spanish university faculty in relation to the selection, use, and creation of digital educational content.
The study is based on the premise that content creation is one of the most challenging dimensions of teachers’ digital competence. It explores whether factors such as university ownership (public or private), academic rank, and the autonomous community where the institution is located influence the development of these competencies. To address these questions, the authors employed a quantitative methodology involving a sample of 770 faculty members from public and private universities across Spain, using selected items from the DigCompEdu Check-In questionnaire.
The findings reveal significant differences according to both institutional type and geographical location. Faculty members at private universities reported higher levels of digital content creation competence than their counterparts at public institutions, whereas academic rank did not have a statistically significant influence.
Higher levels of competence were also observed among faculty from universities in La Rioja compared with those in several other autonomous communities, including Madrid, Catalonia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, the Basque Country, and Andalusia. Another noteworthy finding is that many participants tended to underestimate their own digital competence, highlighting a gap between self-perception and measured performance.
The study’s main contribution is its demonstration that teachers’ digital competence is shaped not only by individual abilities but also by the institutional and regional contexts in which teaching takes place. Its conclusions support the need for initial and continuing professional development programs tailored to the characteristics of individual universities and the specific needs of their faculty.
At the same time, the authors acknowledge several limitations, including the use of a convenience sample and the reliance on self-perceived competence as the primary measure. Future research could therefore incorporate objective assessments and qualitative approaches to gain a deeper understanding of the types of digital content university teachers create and how they integrate these resources into their pedagogical practice.
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How to Cite: Ferrando-Rodríguez, M. de L., Marín-Suelves, D., Gabarda Méndez, V., & Ramón-Llin Más, J. (2025). Digital competence and content creation at University: influence of ownership and region. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1), 197–216. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.1.41475
