Bridging Digital Learning Competence and Academic Achievement: The Roles of Informal Digital Learning and Metacognitive Self-Regulation

Abstract

The author investigates how digital learning competence (DLC) is bridged to academic achievement (AA) through informal digital learning engagement (IDLE) and how meta-cognitive self-regulation (MSR) shapes these pathways among university students. Grounded in a moderated mediation framework, this research conceptualizes DLC not as a static skill set but as a latent capacity that is channeled into academic outcomes when students autonomously engage in digital environments and regulate their cognition. Survey data were collected from 432 undergraduate students and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that DLC significantly predicts AA both directly and indirectly via IDLE, identifying informal digital learning engagement as a central pathway through which digital learning competence is translated into academic gains. Furthermore, MSR moderates the relationship between DLC and IDLE, such that higher levels of metacognitive self-regulation strengthen the conversion of digital learning competence into productive informal digital learning engagement. These findings support a dynamic view of digital learning competence and underscore the roles of learner autonomy and metacognitive awareness in transforming digital skills into meaningful educational outcomes. By integrating perspectives on digital literacy, self-regulated learning, and informal learning, this study offers implications for the design of digital learning ecosystems that effectively bridge students’ digital capacities with their academic achievement.