Challenges and opportunities perceived by Swiss vocational education and training (VET) teachers during emergency remote teaching: The role of teachers’ digital competence

Abstract

This research explored the association between teachers’ digital competence and their perception of specific topics as challenges or opportunities during the emergency remote teaching caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The data were collected from 2282 Swiss vocational education and training (VET) teachers through open-ended questions and self-reported measures based on DigCompEdu. The results suggest that digital competence is associated with the tendency to perceive specific topics in terms of challenges or opportunities. Specifically, the teachers who reported assessment, students’ empowerment and self-directed learning as opportunities had higher levels of competence in the respective DigCompEdu areas compared to those who perceived the same topics as challenges.