The importance of context in teacher educators’ professional digital competence

Abstract

ABSTRACT Digital technologies permeate modern life, and schools are accordingly expected to help students develop related knowledge and skills. As a result, educators’ professional digital competence (PDC) has received substantial attention from school leaders, policymakers, teacher educators, and researchers. Theory and prior research suggest that educators’ PDC does not solely determine their technology use, with contextual factors, such as competing curricular demands and access to technology, influencing technology implementation and ongoing PDC development. While some prior research has addressed how PK-12 teachers’ contexts shape their digital technology use, few studies have explored similar matters with respect to teacher educators. Drawing on an established set of teacher educator technology competencies, we report results from an international survey of 336 teacher educators regarding their self-reported PDC and its development and enactment. Using qualitative coding, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and quantitative analysis, we find that teacher educators develop and enact their competencies in various ways including through informal endeavours as well as formal, institutionally supported, and/or led activities. Three types of assets and barriers (access, leadership, personal characteristics) present differently for participants in different contexts. These findings have implications for how institutions support teacher educators’ PDC development and technology integration in various settings.