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• The role of digital background factors in academic achievement. A comparative study of students from three countries based on the PISA 2022 database

  115–128

  Balázs János Csajkos

  Klára Kovács-Nagy

  Views:

  80

  This study investigates the impact of students’ digital background factors on mathematical achievement using data from the 2022 PISA assessment. The analysis focuses on 15-year-old students from Austria, Estonia, and Hungary with particular attention given to the interplay between home financial conditions, ICT availability and usage, digital attitudes, and mathematics performance. Drawing on student questionnaire responses, we constructed composite indices and factor scores representing digital access, usage frequency, and digital competence at both home and school settings. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and linear regression models were applied to explore the relationships between digital background variables and students' mathematics proficiency scores. The results reveal that home financial status consistently predicts higher achievement across all three countries, whereas the frequency of school-based ICT use shows a negative correlation with performance. Conversely, home-based ICT usage and positive attitudes towards online platforms correlate with higher mathematics outcomes. The Estonian data challenge the initial hypothesis of a country-specific positive effect of ICT usage in schools, suggesting instead that the quality and context of digital integration matter more than frequency. The findings also highlight the importance of learning orientation and student motivation in shaping mathematics performance. Despite some methodological limitations – such as the cross-sectional nature of the data and reliance on self-reported measures – the study offers reliable insights into how digital background factors influence academic outcomes. The results underscore the need for more effective integration of ICT tools in classrooms, informed by students' learning habits and preferences.

• AI as a digital assistant in a multi-ethnic VET system: Evidence from the VETAssIst project in Serbia

  28–36

  Zoltán Papp

  Elvira Kovács

  Views:

  27

  Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly framed as a lever for teaching efficiency in vocational education and training (VET), yet adoption is mediated by teachers’ linguistic and cultural contexts. This study, conducted within the VETAssIst project, compares AI‑related readiness and needs among VET teachers in Serbia across two cohorts working under the same national framework: Hungarian‑minority teachers in Vojvodina and Serbian‑majority teachers. Using a structured questionnaire, we examine perceived usefulness of AI as a ‘digital assistant’ for lesson planning, assessment, and administrative work, self‑reported digital competence, perceived institutional support, and readiness for integration. The evidence indicates broadly similar baseline competence across cohorts, strong intentions to expand classroom use, and uneven institutional backing. Recurrent requirements include VET‑specific AI tools, clearer school‑level policies, targeted professional development, and language‑accessible resources. We argue that sustainable digital transformation in multi‑ethnic VET systems depends on aligning tool ecosystems and professional learning with the linguistic diversity of the workforce, thereby preventing intra‑system digital divides.

• How Do University Students Get Relevant Information?

  67-79

  Dóra Szabó

  Views:

  384

  The web and learning have evolved parallel as technological changes have influenced teaching and learning processes. In this study, I intend to extend this parallel with two other dimensions, namely, human 1.0-3.0 and influencer 1.0-3.0. The concepts are closely related to how the online world became popular abroad and what their impact is on learning and education. Thus, the question, “what is the significance of social media, and of its latest, most popular actors, of the “work” of influencers (which can be interpreted as fake news) in the lives of students in higher education?”, is also a very pertinent issue to touch on. Its involvement in our lives is ever growing and very often influences our media literacy. This gives us even more reason to look into social media’s impact.

  However, our main goal is to find answers to the following questions:
  • What opportunities does the digital toolkit give to students? What kind of digital literacy do students think they need to thrive in the job market?
  • To what extent does the ICT literacy of pedagogical students differ from that of other students (lawyer, economics, doctor, technical)? What form of cognitive development is used for lifelong learning?
  • To what extent are students’ IT literacy influenced by cultural, material, and family capital?
  • How is information acquisition implemented in education? How conscious is the use of media among university students, and what is their critical attitude?
  • To what extent does online media penetrate the medium of formal-informal and non-formal learning? How does the influencer activity of professional opinion leaders help students to think critically and thoughtfully?

  The sample of the survey is made up of students from the University of Debrecen. From the results we can see, that university students behave differently in the online space, on social media platforms and on messengers than they would elsewhere, thus this affects how they get information. The current situation, the pandemic, clearly demonstrates that advanced digital competence is essential for a confident presence in the online space and advanced critical thinking. Problems of digital inequality and division have surfaced, and the constructed reality mediated by the media is becoming increasingly distorted. During this period, the relationship between the media and media consumers has changed greatly, and the interaction has intensified.

• Recent graduates and labour market competencies – Issues of horizontal matching

  29-38

  Sandor Márton

  Mihály Fónai

  Views:

  10

  This study examines the differences between the competencies possessed by recent graduates and those required in their jobs, with particular attention to horizontal matching. Its theoretical framework integrates human capital theory, job matching models, the skill mismatch approach, and competence theories, highlighting the growing importance of transversal and non-cognitive skills. The analysis is based on the Hungarian dataset of the Eurograduate 2022 survey (N = 6,797) and compares possessed and required competencies based on graduates’ subjective self-assessments, while also examining the degree of horizontal mismatch. According to the results, in most of the examined competencies, only moderate differences can be observed between the required and actual levels, and in several cases, recent graduates rate their own competencies higher than those required for their work. Prominent differences can be observed in some dimensions of digital and communication competencies. Horizontal matching is high, although significant differences are observed by level and field of education. The findings suggest that both the level and the type of competencies play a decisive role in labour market matching, while mismatch is more of a differentiated rather than a general phenomenon.