The Need for Digital Education in the Teaching Profession: A Path Toward Using the European Digital Competence Framework in Albania

Abstract

Digital competence is part of 21st Century skills that allow individual teaching professionals to engage in new and flexible ways of learning. Studies have shown that digital competence improves education and equips the teaching staff with expertise on how to use information, communication, and basic problem-solving. The need for digital competence is clearly evident in the current pandemic situation, where digital technologies have taken a more prominent role in communication and education processes. Beyond the digital competence of educators, proper school infrastructure and curricula are needed during pre-service training to help teachers achieve digital competence. To better understand this need, an online survey was developed to analyze digital education in Albania. The survey was designed to analyze the teaching competence of teachers in pre-service and in-service programs, as well as their schools’ curricula and infrastructure. Results from the questionnaire highlighted a need for the acquisition of digital knowledge for teachers according to different age groups. The results of the study found that difficulties teachers encountered in the acquisition of digital knowledge were not only due to deficiencies in teacher training but also other issues such as lack of infrastructure. The study concludes by recommending that providing digital education should be in line with European and national policy and legislation, as well as with national and international organizations. The paper reports findings assessing the level of preparedness of Albanian educators in regard to digital education and explores opportunities and identifies challenges for coping with enhancing digital development.