The PIAAC and DigComp 2.2 Frameworks
This research considers two prominent components for measuring skills and digital capabilities among individuals. The first is the PIAAC framework, which encompasses collecting information from adults across three domains to report on educational achievement and work experience. The PIAAC framework has been used by individuals to reach desirable skills in numeracy and literacy (Rammstedt et al., 2017). According to Maslov and Zhong (2022), the comprehensive PIAAC survey provides policymakers with statistics related to education, training, and employment that enable them to make decisions. In brief, it is a survey designed to measure skills, skill uses, and tasks required in a specific profession. It allows the surveyors to understand whether an individual’s skills are sufficient to cope with more demanding duties and whether they need further training to perform their present duties. Thirty-three countries participated in Round 1 of the program between 2008 and 2013 and in Round 2 between 2012 and 2016 (Kawaguchi & Toriyabe, 2022).
As noted by Maslov and Zhong (2022), the survey considers how modern technology can help individuals as they acquire and evaluate information, communicate with others, and solve various types of problems. It comprises three main dimensions. The first is the tasks and problem statement dimension, which includes situational elements that trigger problem-solving, like directions or instructions. These elements are responsible for supplying better problem-solving skills to differentiate between various learning tasks. The second dimension is technologies, including laptop computers, simulated software applications, commands and functions, and representations (such as text and graphics). These technologies assess an individual’s ability to use technology effectively to access information, communicate with other individuals and teams, and manage their own learning. The third is the cognitive dimension, which deals with the mental structures and processes used to solve problems. These include setting goals and monitoring progress, planning, locating, selecting, evaluating, organizing, and transforming information.
The other key framework is DigComp 2.2, which provides a common language to identify the key areas of digital competence. It also presents a set of tools that enables educators, trainers, and learners to share an understanding of what constitutes digital literacy and how it can be mapped into different educational practice contexts (Lucas et al., 2022). This framework has been used predominantly throughout Europe to improve citizens’ digital competence, help policymakers formulate policies that support digital competence, and plan education and training initiatives to improve the digital competence of specific target groups. Version 2.2 of this framework consists of an update in knowledge, skills, and attitude examples. According to Vuorikari et al. (2022), DigComp 2.2 contributes to a shared understanding of what digital competence involves, including examples of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help individuals engage confidently, critically, and safely with digital tools. In other words, it shows how to acquire additional digital competence and metacognitive skills, as these are necessary for more effective multidimensional knowledge and multifaceted experiences. It details problem-solving, information and data literacy, digital content creation, communication and collaboration, and safety skills. This helps individuals become more adaptable to 21st-century skills—including becoming tech-savvy, which involves analyzing data and information, developing problem-solving strategies, evaluating solutions, and strengthening communication skills (Szabo et al., 2020).