BEYOND SKILLS: RETHINKING DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION

<doi>10.24250/jpe/2/2025/IEC/LIV/</doi>

Abstract

This paper explores the importance of digital citizenship in
higher education as a multidimensional concept that
transcends technical competence. Digital citizenship is
presented as a model that overlaps ethical awareness,
social duty, and academic integrity to equip students to
navigate the challenges of digital environments
responsibly. The debate introduces the concerns of how
issues such as academic dishonesty, privacy,
disinformation, and pressures around identity shape
students' online behaviors and whether they can engage
critically with technology. Of specific interest is the
intersection of digital citizenship and sustainability, and
how good moral conduct online can contribute towards
shared goals and prepare students to participate in global
challenges. The debate makes a case for universities to
design interventions, foster faculty engagement, and enact
culturally responsive approaches that walk the line of
digital skill opportunity and ethical practice. The
conclusion of the article is that digital citizenship needs to
become the key mission of higher education in order to
prepare students to be effective, critical, and socially
engaged citizens in a digital world.