The expansion of online education has transformed access to and flexibility in higher education, but it has also made clear that learning at a distance requires more than simply having a platform and good content.
Gonzalo Garcés and Elena Bastías examine this issue through a bibliometric study and a systematic review of 781 publications on online learning in higher education. Their work shows how this field of research has evolved and identifies some of its main areas of interest: student satisfaction, engagement and motivation, the quality of the educational experience, and the development of competencies for navigating virtual environments.
The analysis reveals particularly strong growth in research since 2020 and groups the main trends into four broad areas: perceptions of and satisfaction with the use of technology; engagement, participation, and motivation; the skills and competencies required by future professionals; and the quality of online education.
Among the concepts gaining particular prominence are self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, employability, technology acceptance, and the design of learning experiences capable of keeping students engaged. The authors also stress that effective online education requires not only digital competencies but also responsibility, critical thinking, self-regulation, and the ability to reflect on one’s own learning.
Based on these findings, the article proposes a competency framework that connects knowledge, attitudes, and practical abilities with the tools and technologies used in online learning. The framework places reflection as a particularly important competency for professional development and employability, while also emphasizing the need to design educational environments that foster autonomy without neglecting interaction, motivation, feedback, and equitable access.
The main conclusion is clear: the quality of online education does not depend solely on technology, but on how it is integrated into pedagogical models capable of developing the competencies that students and professionals need in increasingly digital educational and professional contexts.
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How to Cite: Garcés, G., & Bastías, E. (2025). Competencies model for online learning in higher education: a bibliometric analysis and systematic review. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1), 259–290. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.1.41351
