20.500.12556/RUL-178211 Students’ topic interest and its effect on their self-perceived digital and sustainability competencies and their perceived mode of acquisition In an era defined by digital transformation and the pursuit of sustainability, education functions both as a reflection of societal change and as a catalyst for it. This study examines how students’ interest in topics of digital and sustainability competencies affects their self-perceived proficiency and the extent to which they attribute their competency acquisition to formal education. The research employs established frameworks for digital and sustainability competencies, along with a set of professional competencies. Data were collected from 453 final-year students enrolled in upper secondary vocational and technical education, short-cycle higher vocational education, bachelor’s, and master’s programs in wood science and technology education in Slovenia and analyzed using multiple regression models. All six competence dimensions identified through exploratory factor analysis showed significant positive effects of topic interest on self-perceived competence, with the strongest association observed for generic sustainability competencies. Topic interest also positively predicted the share of competencies students reported acquiring through formal education, with the largest effects for technical professional and generic sustainability competencies. These findings highlight topic interest as an important motivational factor shaping students’ perceptions of their digital and sustainability competencies, while the educator’s role appears especially crucial at this early stage of interest development for digital and sustainability topics. topic interest interest in digitaly topics interest in sustainability topics sustainability competencies digital competencies wood science and technology education self-assessment self-perception education vsebinski interes interes za digitalne vsebine interes za trajnostne vsebine trajnostne kompetence digitalne kompetence izobraževanje na področju lesarstva samopercepcija samoocena izobraževanje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-01-21 12:30:38 2026-01-21 12:30:44 2026-08-31 11:04:25 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 1706–1724 iss. 1 Vol. 21 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 630*9 1930-2126 10.15376/biores.21.1.1706-1724 265558531 RAZ_Goropecnik_Luka_2026.pdf RAZ_Goropecnik_Luka_2026.pdf 1 3AA2BE17567DC0A86A9C52BD83CE18B5 819a06454836b220106719c0cb0f8171e171771f6fdae324787e7398d554a0f2 cd6e0e2e-f6bc-11f0-bf92-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=225822 https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/students-topic-interest-and-its-effect-on-their-self-perceived-digital-and-sustainability-competencies-and-their-perceived-mode-of-acquisition/ 1 9223b4d4-f6bc-11f0-bf92-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=225821 Biotehniška fakulteta Filozofska fakulteta 0 0 0