Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2022, 38(3)

Results 
The search yielded 1608 publications, of which 1603 were identified through the search in databases, and 
five were identified through Google Scholar. After discarding the duplicate publications, applying the 
inclusion criteria and excluding those studies that did not meet the quality threshold, 13 publications 
reporting systematic reviews on TDC development were included in the overview. Figure 1 shows the 
PRISMA flow diagram of the review process. 
Figure 1. 
Study selection PRISMA flow diagram 
•
RQ1: What are the characteristics of published systematic reviews on TDC research in HE? 
Table 2 shows the synthesised characteristics of the 13 included reviews (see full characteristics on Figshare 
at 
https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_2_Full_characteristics_of_included_reviews/14785314/1
). 
Three distinct settings and contexts were identified, the most frequent being general DC development in 
HE (
n
= 5). Contexts analysed in these settings looked at faculty, students, teaching and learning, research, 
organisation, governance and infrastructure. Four reviews focused on teacher training and teacher 
professional development, much of which was conducted in faculties of education. Finally, four reviews 
focused specifically on TDC in HE in their analysis. In total, 740 studies were synthesised across 13 
reviews. The review with the most included studies was 154, while the review with the least was 13. Most 
reviews were published in English (69%), the rest in Spanish (31%). The majority of the reviews were 
geographically affiliated with Spain (61%), while studies also originated in Sweden (15%), Norway (7.5%), 
Peru (7.5%) and New Zealand (7.5%). Five reviews searched only in English, while the rest searched in 

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Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2022, 38(3). 
127 
multiple languages related to their geographic origin. Combining English and Spanish (22.5%) was the 
most common search combination. Publication dates ranged from 2000 to 2021, with the average range 
from 2007 to 2016. Although some reviews used only one database to search (15%), most used two (38%) 
or three (23%). The most commonly used databases were Web of Science (61%), Scopus (54.5%) and 
ERIC (54.5%). 
Table 2 
Characteristics of included reviews 
Author 
Setting and context Included 
studies 
First author geographic affiliation 
and language 
Date range of 
included studies 
Duran et al. (2016)
TDC in HE
13 
Spain; Spanish
2005–2016
Esteve-Mon et al. (2020) TDC in HE
43 
Spain; English
n/r
Fernández-Batanero et al. 
(2020) 
TT & TPD
21 
Spain; English
2008–2018
Palacios et al. (2020) 
TDC in HE
68 
Spain; English
2009–2018
Perdomo et al. (2020) 
TDC in HE
26 
Peru; Spanish
2010–2020
Pettersson (2018)
DC development in 
HE 
41 
Sweden; English
2008–2017
Recio et al. (2020) 
DC development in 
HE 
18 
Spain; Spanish
2014–2019
Rodríguez-García et al. 
(2019)
TT & TPD
154 
Spain; Spanish 
2009–2017
Røkenes & Krumsvik 
(2014)
TT & TPD
42 
Norway; English
2000–2013
Sanchez-Caballe et al. 
(2020) 
DC development in 
HE 
126 
Spain; English
2006–2017
Spante et al. (2018)
DC development in 
HE 
107 
Sweden; English
1997–2017
Starkey (2020) 
TT & TPD
48 
New Zealand; English
2008–2018
Zhao et al. (2021) 
DC development in 
HE 
33 
Spain; English
2015–2021
Note
. TDC in HE = teacher digital competence in higher education; TT & TPD = teacher training and teacher 
professional development; DC = digital competence development in HE; n/r = not reported. 
In relation to the types of studies included in the reviews, many (38%) omitted this information. Among 
those that reported (62%), the most commonly included study type was quantitative (61%), followed by 
qualitative (46%), mixed methods (38%) and theoretical papers (38%). A total of 84% reported including 
peer-reviewed and indexed studies as a criterion for inclusion. Turning to the type of review reported by 
the authors, the majority reported a systematic literature review (53%), while others reported using a meta-
analysis and/or bibliometric study (15%), or variations such as bibliometric study (7.5%), bibliometric and 
documental review (7.5%), literature review method (7.5%) or qualitative literature review (7.5%). When 
examining whether review authors used critical appraisal tools, we were surprised to find that few (15%) 
reported assessing for quality of the included primary studies. Concerning the method of synthesis reported 
by review authors, the majority involved a form of content analysis and descriptive synthesis. Qualitative 
content analysis (46%) was inferred in just under half the studies, as the authors did not explicitly report 
synthesis methods in these cases, while content analysis (15%) and thematic content analysis (15%) were 
also used. To support the critical synthesis and presentation of evidence, literature summary tables are an 
essential technique, reported in a majority of studies (77%). 
•
RQ2: What are the implications for practice for TDC development in HE suggested in these 
reviews? 
The phenomenon of interest, synthesised findings and implications for practice are shown in Table 3. When 
examining the phenomenon of interest, we grouped selected studies into the following categories: research 
trends on DC in HE (
n
= 6), pedagogical aspects on DC (
n
= 4) and revising the concepts and models of 
DC (
n
= 3). 

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Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2022, 38(3). 
128 
Table 3
Presentation of phenomenon of interest, synthesised findings and implications for research and 
practice 
Phenomenon 
of interest 
References 
Synthesised findings 
Implications for practice 
Research 
trends on DC in 
HE 
Fernández-
Batanero et al. 
(2020); Perdomo et 
al. (2020); 
Rodríguez-Garcia 
et al. (2019); 
Sánchez-Caballé et 
al. (2020); Starkey 
(2020); Zhao et al. 
(2021)
•
ICT training main element for teacher 
professional development. 
•
Teacher collaboration and use of 
technological resources as a factor for 
improvement. 
•
Teachers unqualified in DC, with 
insufficient ICT training: despite 
favourable teacher attitude towards 
technologies. 
•
TDC in HE research should be 
reoriented due to lack of research that 
goes beyond descriptive research 
based on teacher self-perceptions. 
•
Significant impact identified in DC 
research in HE generated by the 
definition of the key competences 
that every citizen must possess. 
•
Most frequently used terms are 
“digital literacy” and “digital 
competence” 
•
Most frequently used DC elements: 
Information skills, technical skills, 
content creation/media skills, 
communication. 
•
Proposed model frames DC in three 
ways: generic DC; TDC; professional 
DC. 
•
DC in HE research defined in a 
general way by referring to policy 
documents and related research. 
•
Students are more frequently studied 
than teachers. 
•
DC level of teachers and students is 
at a basic or medium level. 
•
Need for revising and/or 
developing curricula to 
incorporate TDC for future 
professionals. 
•
Importance of digital 
teacher training for the 
development of student 
DC. 
•
Recognise the link between 
teaching competence and 
pedagogical leadership for 
educational innovation 
•
More clarity is needed 
around the concept of DC. 
•
A need for DC 
development strategy for 
youth and/or students.
•
University staff and 
educators should adapt 
their training to the pace of 
technological evolution. 
•
Emergence of a 
professional DC profile, 
setting new agenda for 
research & practice. 
•
Applying a practical test of 
digital tasks may provide a 
better understanding of