Media Competence of University Faculty in Hispanic Higher Education
Scientific Dissemination Practices on Social Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65598/rps.6079Keywords:
Media competence , Higher education, Scientific dissemination , Social media addiction, university teachersAbstract
This study examines university faculty media competence for scientific dissemination on social media within the context of Hispanic higher education. Framed by the challenges of digital internationalization and the visibility of knowledge produced in Spanish, the study adopts a quantitative exploratory-descriptive design. A total of 60 active faculty profiles (35 on LinkedIn and 25 on X) were analyzed, selected from publicly accessible accounts with verifiable scientific dissemination activity, using three validated instruments structured across six dimensions of media competence. The results indicate predominantly initial to intermediate competence levels (A2–B1). LinkedIn shows more consistent development, particularly in the Language, Interaction, and Ideology and Values dimensions. In contrast, performance on X is more irregular, with notable weaknesses in the Technological and Aesthetic dimensions. Across both platforms, ethical and communicative responsibility emerges as a consolidated strength, whereas strategic planning, multimodal design, and advanced technological use remain limited. The study proposes an operational model for analyzing media competence through real scientific dissemination practices, contributing to current debates on academic visibility and the international positioning of research produced in Spanish.
Downloads
References
Aguaded, I., Civila, S., & Vizcaíno-Verdú, A. (2022). Paradigm changes and new challenges for media education: Review and science mapping (2000-2021). Profesional de La Información, 31(6). https://doi.org/10.3145/EPI.2022.NOV.06
Anabo, I. F., & Albizuri, I. E. (2017). LinkedIn como Instrumento para la Evaluación de Programas de Educación Superior. Revista de Educación a Distancia (RED), 8(53), 31–2017. https://doi.org/10.6018/red/53/8
Andrade Vargas, L. D., Portugal, R., Sandoval Romero, Y., & Labanda, C. G. (2024). Youtube e Instagram en educación superior: competencias mediáticas del docente universitario. RIED: Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 27(2), 339–356. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.27.2.39080
Buzón, V. M., Pérez, R. G., & Catalán, Á. R. (2019). Explorando factores predictores de la competencia digital en las redes sociales virtuales. Pixel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación, 56, 51–69. https://doi.org/10.12795/PIXELBIT.2019.I56.03
Carlos, J., Escobedo, P., Gerarda, G., & Jiménez, A. (2021). Competencias digitales en profesores de educación superior de Iberoamérica: una revisión sistemática. RIDE Revista Iberoamericana Para La Investigación y El Desarrollo Educativo, 12(23), 303. https://doi.org/10.23913/RIDE.V12I23.1096
Castillo, J. A., & Powell, M. A. (2018). Research Productivity and International Collaboration: A Study of Ecuadorian Science. Journal Of Hispanic Higher Education, 19(4), 369-387. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192718792151
Chinnasamy, B., & Pandi, P. (2025). An analysis of dissemination factors through shared social media among social science scholars in universities. Information Discovery And Delivery. https://doi.org/10.1108/idd-11-2024-0181
del Cerro Ramon, S., Rodríguez-Rivas, C., Vidal, S., Escabrós, M., & Oberst, U. (2017). Interpersonal perception of LinkedIn profiles and employability. Aloma Revista de Psicologia Ciències de L Educació I de L Esport, 35(2), 13-22. https://doi.org/10.51698/aloma.2017.35.2.13-22
De Filippo, D., Pandiella-Dominique, A., & Sanz-Casado, E. (2017). Indicadores para el análisis de la visibilidad internacional de las universidades españolas. Revista de Educación, (376), 163–198. https://doi.org/10.4438/1988-592X-RE-2017-376-348
dos Santos Claro, J. A. C. (2024). Social Networks on the Internet: Dissemination and Communication of Scientific Knowledge. In Connecting With Consumers Through Effective Personalization and Programmatic Advertising (pp. 147–165). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9146-1.CH008
EDUCAUSE. (2025). 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition. https://bit.ly/4e4jluE
Escoda, A. P., & Esteban, L. M. P. (2021). Retos del periodismo frente a las redes sociales, las fake news y la desconfianza de la generación Z. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 79, 67–85. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2021-1519
Estrada-Molina, O., & Fuentes-Cancell, D. R. (2024). El uso de ResearchGate y LinkedIn para elevar la motivación por la lectura académica: un estudio experimental. Revista Fuentes, 26(3), 292–304. https://doi.org/10.12795/REVISTAFUENTES.2024.24172
Faure-Carvallo, A., Sabido-Codina, J., Villanueva-Baselga, S., & Marquès, A. (2024). Educación mediática e informacional en la formación universitaria del profesorado: una revisión sistemática. Campus Virtuales, 13(2), 77. https://doi.org/10.54988/CV.2024.2.1375
Ferrés, J., & Piscitelli, A. (2012). La competencia mediática: propuesta articulada de dimensiones e indicadores. Comunicar, 19(38), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.3916/C38-2012-02-08
Froment, F., García-González, A. J., & Cabero, J. (2022). Relación de la red social Twitter con la credibilidad docente y la motivación del alumnado universitario. Comunicar, 30(71), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.3916/C71-2022-10
Fuentes-Cancell, D. R., Estrada-Molina, O., Delgado-Yanes, N., & Acosta, J. M. Z. (2022). Experiences in the Training of Teaching Digital Competence for Using Digital Social Networks. Educational Process: International Journal, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2022.114.1
Fuentes-Cancell, D. R., Estrada-Molina, O., & Yanes, N. D. (2021). Social networks: A socio-educational vision. Systematic review. Revista Fuentes, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.12795/REVISTAFUENTES.2021.V23.I1.11947
Gallego, A. M., Lacerda, J. D. S., & Araujo, A. C. C. (2023). La divulgación científica en Instagram: el reto del discurso audiovisual científico ante los contenidos efímeros. Revista de Comunicación de La SEECI, 56, 148–175. https://doi.org/10.15198/SEECI.2023.56.E823
Gende, I. M. (2021). El desarrollo de la competencia digital de futuros docentes en una universidad en línea. Bordón Revista de Pedagogía, 73(4), 121-143. https://doi.org/10.13042/bordon.2021.89823
Gil, L., & Guallar, J. (2023). Científicos en redes sociales. Divulgación y curación de contenidos en twitter: taxonomía y casos. Index.Comunicación, 13(1), 55–77. https://doi.org/10.33732/IXC/13/01CIENTI
Gil-Fernández, R., Calderón-Garrido, D., León-Gómez, A., & Martin-Piñol, C. (2019). Comparativa del uso educativo de las redes sociales en los grados de Maestro: universidades presenciales y online. Aloma: Revista De Psicologia, Ciències De l’Educació I De l’Esport, 37(2), 75–81. https://doi.org/10.51698/aloma.2019.37.2.75-81
Gutiérrez, A., & Tyner, K. (2012). Educación para los medios, alfabetización mediática y competencia digital. Comunicar, 19(38), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.3916/C38-2012-02-03
Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, M. del P. (2018). Metodología de la investigación: Las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Howoldt, D., Kroll, H., & Neuhäusler, P. (2023). Relating popularity on Twitter and Linkedin to bibliometric indicators of visibility and interconnectedness: an analysis of 8512 applied researchers in Germany. Scientometrics, 128(10), 5571–5594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04799-y
Huang, L., Clarke, A., Heldsinger, N., & Tian, W. (2019). The communication role of social media in social marketing: a study of the community sustainability knowledge dissemination on LinkedIn and Twitter. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 7(2), 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1057/S41270-019-00053-8/METRICS
INTEF. (2022). Marco de Referencia de la Competencia Digital Docente. Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesiona.
Luo, W., Berson, I. R., Berson, M. J., & Li, H. (2021). Are early childhood teachers ready for digital transformation of instruction in Mainland China? A systematic literature review. Children and Youth Services Review, 120, 105718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105718
Luque-Martínez, T., Doña-Toledo, L., & Faraoni, N. (2024). The digital future of Spanish universities: facing the challenge of a digital transformation. The Bottom Line Managing Library Finances, 38(1), 28-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl-02-2024-0009
Marcelo-Martínez, P., Yot-Domínguez, C. R., & Marcelo, C. (2023). Los docentes y las redes sociales: Usos y motivaciones. Revista de Educación a Distancia (RED), 23(72). https://doi.org/10.6018/RED.523561
Marcelo-Martínez, P., Yot-Domínguez, C., & Yanes Cabrera, C. (2025). Connected outside, disconnected inside. Social Networks in initial teacher training. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1), 83–106. https://doi.org/10.5944/RIED.28.1.41343
Marchal, N., Hoes, E., Klüser, K. J., Hamborg, F., Alizadeh, M., Kubli, M., & Katzenbach, C. (2025). How Negative Media Coverage Impacts Platform Governance: Evidence from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Political Communication, 42(2), 215–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2024.2377992
Martin Neira, J. I., Trillo-Domínguez, M., & Olvera-Lobo, M.-D. (2023). De la televisión a TikTok: Nuevos formatos audiovisuales para comunicar ciencia. Comunicación y Sociedad, 20, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.32870/CYS.V2023.8441
Martín-Gutiérrez, Á., Said-Hung, E., & Conde-Jiménez, J. (2024). Social media and non-university teachers from a gender perspective in Spain. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 13(10), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44322-024-00010-z
Micaletto-Belda, J. P., & Martín-Herrera, I. (2023). Aprendizaje colaborativo en la Universidad: análisis de una experiencia con una comunidad virtual en Linkedin. EDMETIC, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.21071/EDMETIC.V12I1.14344
Moreno, C. B., Carretero, M. R. M., de Santiago, B. S. R., & Rumayor, L. R. (2024). Gamificación-educación: el poder del dato. El profesorado en las redes sociales. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 27(1), 373–396. https://doi.org/10.5944/RIED.27.1.37648
Niño-Sandoval, Y., Alvarez-Risco, A., Simbaqueba-Uribe, J., Del-Aguila-Arcentales, S., Villalobos-Alvarez, D., & Yañez, J. A. (2023). Processes of communication and dissemination of science: the challenges of science policy guidelines in Colombia. Frontiers In Education, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1184212
Nordin, N., Samsudin, M. A., Mansor, A. F., & Ismail, M. E. (2020). Social Network Analysis to Examine the Effectiveness of e-PBL with Design Thinking to Foster Collaboration: Comparisons between High and Low Self-regulated Learners. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 12(4), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.30880/jtet.2020.12.04.005
Perdomo, B., Alberto González-Martínez, O., & Barreto, I. B. (2020). Competencias digitales en docentes universitarios: una revisión sistemática de la literatura. EDMETIC, 9(2), 92–115. https://doi.org/10.21071/EDMETIC.V9I2.12796
Pérez-Escoda, A., García-Ruiz, R., & Aguaded-Gómez, I. (2018). La competencia mediática en el profesorado universitario. Validación de un instrumento de evaluación. @tic Revista d’innovació Educativa, 21, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.7203/attic.21.12550
Rovira-Collado, J., Miras, S., Ruiz-Bañuls, M., & Martínez-Carratalá, F. A. (2023). Análisis multimodal de perfiles e hilos educativos de Twitter desde la Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura. Revista de Educación a Distancia (RED), 23(75), 31–2023. https://doi.org/10.6018/RED.545101
Said-Hung, E., Martín-Gutiérrez, Á., & Marcano, B. (2024). A study of social media use for scientific communication and dissemination among Spanish education researchers. Knowledge Management & E-Learning, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2024.16.012
Suazo-Galdames, I. C., Saracostti, M., & Chaple-Gil, A. M. (2025). Scientific evidence and public policy: a systematic review of barriers and enablers for evidence-informed decision-making. Frontiers In Communication, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1632305
Tolbert, C. (2025). The Leadership Identity Presented on LinkedIn. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.22543/1948-0733.1539
Valencia-Oliveros, N. Y., & Martín-Gutiérrez, Á. (2024). Divulgación en RRSS de las profesoras universitarias del campo educativo en España. Profesorado, Revista de Currículum y Formación Del Profesorado, 28(3), 311–331. https://doi.org/10.30827/PROFESORADO.V28I3.29601
Valdivieso, P. A., Alecchi, B. A., & Arévalo-Avecillas, D. (2021). Factors that Influence the Individual Research Output of University Professors: The Case of Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. Journal Of Hispanic Higher Education, 21(4), 450-468. https://doi.org/10.1177/15381927211008684
Vásquez-Rocca, L. (2024). Comunicación científica en Twitter. Autoría, función y estructuras prototípicas de académicos en Chile. Galáxia (São Paulo), 49, e66109. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-2553202466109
Victorino, C. A., Ing, M., Thrush, E. C., Heil, S., Harris, H., Matute, A. C., & Colchete, N. (2024). Latin* Student Success After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal Of Hispanic Higher Education, 24(1), 62-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/15381927241276437
Zapata, P. J. I., & Vera, M. del M. S. (2018). Percepción de los docentes sobre el uso de las redes sociales en el aula de Primaria. Una experiencia en un centro educativo de la Región de Murcia. Edutec, Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, 66, 32–43. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2018.66.1219
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).








