The Functioning of Students’ Digital Mobility Competencies. Pilot Research Conducted at the Preschool and Early School Pedagogy Program at the University of Rzeszów

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of digital mobility competencies among students of preschool and early childhood education at the University of Rzeszów. The main aim of the study was to assess the level of this group of digital competencies based on theoretical assumptions. Based on the literature, five main areas of competencies were identified: device operation, application man-agement, data security, digital communication, and time and resource management. The study was conducted using a proprietary electronic questionnaire, analyzing, among other things, the impact of respondents’ professional status on their self-assessment of their level of digital mobility com-petencies. A statistical analysis based on the Student’s t-test for independent samples with Welch’s correction was used to verify the data. The obtained results showed no statistically significant differences between the groups of employed and non-employed individuals in all analyzed areas. The only slight trend (p = 0.088) was observed in the area of data security, where non-employed individuals rated themselves slightly higher. The obtained mean scores may suggest that these skills are universal and are developed primarily through general digital socialization and educa-tion. The work environment is not a key factor stimulating their development, confirming that they are a permanent part of students’ personal digital capital.