A self-determination theory approach to teacher digital competence development

Abstract

Teacher Digital Competence (TDC) framework guides policy revision and professional development, empowering teachers for future classrooms by technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and metaverse. Falloon (2020) expanded the TPACK framework to include personal-ethic and personal-professional competencies, addressing ethical, safe, and productive functioning in diverse, digital environments for a new TDC framework. The two new sets of personal-competencies are very important to the use of AI and metaverse in education. However, research on implementation of Falloon's (2020) TDC framework that requires interdisciplinary collaboration among school members is limited. Teachers' engagement in TDC development activities is influenced by school digital learning policy and culture, and explained by three needs satisfaction in Self-determination Theory. Therefore, this study had two goals. First it proposed and examined a research model using school learning support as a predictor, needs satisfactions as mediating variable and the two new sets of TDC as criterion variables by analyzing questionnaire data. Second, it identifies needs-supportive strategies for digital education by analyzing interviews and school documents. The participants were 370 school teachers. The results showed that the positive effect of the school learning support on TDC, and needs satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived school learning support and the two sets of personal competencies. We also suggested 12 ways for designing school digital policy and culture that satisfy teachers' needs, and validated instruments of the two sets of personal competencies. TDC that covers teacher artificial intelligence competence is important to the future teacher professional development.