Towards a critical digital literacy and consciousness in higher education: the emancipatory role of critical digital pedagogy

Digital pedagogy demands a critical approach to address challenges from technological inequalities, global crises like COVID-19, and the ethical and social implications of digital society. Higher Education (HE) must develop practices prioritizing critical literacy and consciousness. Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP) emerges as a crucial framework for navigating these challenges and opportunities This literature review analyzes 40 studies to explore how CDP reshapes HE practices, emancipating students and teachers as critical, reflexive agents concerning the digital environment's ethical, social, cultural, and political dimensions. It addresses three key research questions: (1) How does CDP, applied to teaching praxis, promote projects and methodologies that emancipate students as critical and reflective agents? (2) What educational principles within CDP enable the development of critical digital literacy among HE students? (3) How does CDP influence the construction of critical awareness within the HE community? The review highlights the importance of critical digital literacy in enhancing analytical skills, fostering critical data comprehension, and promoting digital inclusion. It advocates for transformative changes in educational practices and the adoption of innovative, technology-based methodologies that foster critical consciousness. Finally, the article proposes six CDP-based actions for HE, addressing themes like emotional support, digital ethics, and digital activism.