Rural Teachers' Digital Competence: Impediments and Developmental Responses

Abstract

Digital transformation of education is an inevitable trend in the development of education in the digital era. Teachers' digital competence is the comprehensive ability of teachers to use digital technology to empower the teaching and learning process, which plays an important role in promoting the digital transformation of education, advancing educational equity, and cultivating students' digital competence. Under the dual system of urban and rural areas, there is a gap in digital competence between urban and rural teachers due to factors such as ambiguous cognition of rural teachers' digital technology, insufficient support, and lack of assessment and training systems, which may further widen educational inequality between urban and rural areas. The development of rural teachers' digital competence can be promoted by guiding them to change their way of thinking, increasing support, and improving assessment and training systems.