Conformity of Higher Education with Requirements of Digital Natives

Abstract

The paper explores stages that teaching followed in its revolutionizing transitions from Education 1.0 to Education 4.0. The study presents a detailed analysis of the scientific approaches, which economists used in examining the influence of digital technologies on the behaviour of young people and on identifying a generation of children as “digital natives” who grew up in the era of informational changes. An assessment of traits inherent in the new generation of young people has been used as a basis for carrying out a comparative analysis of the features of “digital natives” with the distinctiveness of “digital immigrants.” The study identified factors that contributed to a growing number of “digital immigrants” in developing and least developed countries. The notions of “digital cowboys” and “digital nomads” are considered in terms of their recent appearance in the academic market. Countries with the highest share of “digital natives” comprise the high-income and above-average income countries, the countries with very high levels of general Internet penetration, the countries with top ICT Development Index (IDI), and the countries with a relatively high proportion of young people. Solutions are proposed to support “digital natives” in their educational aspirations and narrow the gap between them and “digital immigrants”.