Family Support, Learner Autonomy, and Digital Skills: Unpacking the Pathways to Digital Competence among College Students in Vietnam
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64169/dje.154Keywords:
Digital Competence, Learner Autonomy, Family Support, Higher Education, Gen ZAbstract
This study investigated the relationship between ecological and motivational processes and university students' digital competence in Vietnam. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, Ecological Systems Theory, and the DigComp framework, an eco-motivational model was tested with 305 undergraduates using validated measures of perceived family support, learner autonomy, and digital competence. Regression and mediation analyses were used to assess both direct and indirect paths. Family support was found to have a positive association with digital competence. Learner autonomy was positively associated with digital competence and yielded a substantial partial mediation of the relationship between family support and digital competence. A reverse specification was not supported. The study advances theory by connecting the family microsystem to autonomy-relevant learning processes within a unified account of digital competence. It extends DigComp applications to a Global South higher education setting through a construct-aligned operationalisation of critical use, safety, and ethics, and adaptation to emerging technologies. The results support autonomy-supportive instructional design, targeted family–university communication that emphasises constructive encouragement and resource scaffolding, and curriculum policies that create structured opportunities for autonomous digital task management. Based on these findings, higher education institutions may improve students' digital competence by developing interventions to increase learner autonomy, alongside targeted family engagement.
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