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Author ORCID Identifier

Emil Frashëri: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1062-8432

Eleni Vangjeli: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2506-4225

Abstract

This study investigates university students’ digital competence through a multidimensional and person‑centered analytical framework grounded in bifactor–Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (B‑ESEM). Digital competence was conceptualized across four functional skill domains and a general competence factor, reflecting contemporary perspectives on technology‑enhanced learning and student readiness. To overcome a common limitation in traditional Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), the conflation of overall competence levels with relative skill configurations, this study employed B‑ESEM–derived factor scores to preserve both hierarchical structure and multidimensionality. Using data from 599 university students, a four‑profile solution emerged, capturing distinct patterns of digital skill strengths and weaknesses. Gender and programming experience were incorporated as covariates to better understand demographic and experiential influences on profile membership. The results highlight meaningful variability in students’ digital skill ecosystems and underscore the value of integrating hierarchical modeling with person‑centered approaches to support targeted digital literacy development. These findings offer actionable insights for designing differentiated instructional strategies and educational technology interventions aligned with learner profiles.

First Page

185

Last Page

214

Ethics Approval

Yes

Declaration Statement

Data Availability Statement

Data are available upon reasonable request.

Funding Statement

This research was part of a project funded by our university.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval Statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to data collection, approval was first obtained from the Rector of Fan S. Noli University of Korça, confirming the appropriateness of the questionnaire used for the analysis. Subsequently, formal ethics approval was granted by the Ethics Council of Fan S. Noli University of Korça. The study protocol was reviewed and approved under reference number: 1890/1. Participants were university students who voluntarily and anonymously completed an online questionnaire. Informed consent was obtained, and no personally identifiable or sensitive data were collected. All procedures adhered to institutional and international ethical guidelines.

Participant Consent Statement

Participants provided informed consent.

Permission to Reproduce Materials

N/A

Clinical Trial Registration

N/A

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