Educators’ Digital Competencies: From Theory to Practice

Abstract

Abstract —Living in the 21st century, digital skills constitute a fundamental prerequisite for educators to create a learning environment that meets their students’ educational needs. In a world overwhelmed by technological challenges, teachers are called upon to apply ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in practice during the learning process, becoming creators of digital content, facilitators of learning, and guides for their students. However, for teachers to be able to effectively implement educational technology in practice, continuous training, collaboration, experimentation, and time are factors that are all required. The result, nevertheless, is impressive, as the use of digital tools transforms teaching into a flexible, meaningful, and more participatory process with new perspectives that foster learning motivation. Technology thus becomes a valuable ally for the teacher, and theory finds its application in practice. The sample was formed using purposive sampling. The questionnaire was completed by teachers from primary and secondary education, regardless of specialty, who were participating in four different postgraduate programs delivered through distance learning. Structurally, the questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first part includes the demographic characteristics of the participants, which also define the independent variables of the study. These include gender, age, years of service, subject specialization, educational level, school structure, school location, level of studies, ICT training, and pedagogical education. The second part of the questionnaire consists of two main categories. The first category investigates participants’ accessibility to digital resources, while the second examines the obstacles to the effective integration of new technologies in education. Based on these dependent variables, the study initially explores and evaluates the academic and instructional background of teachers in relation to their level of access to digital resources and the barriers to the effective integration of new technologies in education. The questionnaire includes five Likert-scale subscales, with total scores calculated based on the mean responses for each category. The “Accessibility to Digital Resources” scale yielded an average score of 3.76 (SD = 0.882), while the “Barriers to the Effective Integration of New Technologies in Education” scale showed a mean score of 3.43 (SD = 0.578). Overall, the analyses indicate that accessibility to digital resources and perceptions of barriers to technology integration vary according to teachers’ demographic and professional characteristics. Regarding specialization, teachers in the Humanities and Technological Studies reported higher accessibility to digital resources compared to teachers in the Natural Sciences, though the differences were not statistically significant. A similar trend was observed for the barriers, as there were no statistically significant differences between teachers of different specialties. In terms of workplace location, teachers working in island and rural areas reported higher accessibility to digital resources, whereas teachers in urban areas displayed lower values, showing a statistically significant difference. Years of experience and educational level were also correlated with digital accessibility, with mid-career teachers and doctoral degree holders presenting higher scores. Finally, pedagogical training and ICT education were strongly associated with greater accessibility, particularly among SELETE/ASPETE-trained teachers and those holding Level B ICT certification. However, perceived barriers showed less variability and did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that specialized education and professional experience enhance the use of digital resources in education, while barriers to successful integration appear to be less affected by demographic and professional factors.