Alongside reading, writing, and numeracy digital literacy has become an increasingly crucial component of functional competences in the modern era. Digital competences are essential for educators who wish to stay updated with the changing needs of their students and the education sector. These competences can help them engage their students better, improve their teaching effectiveness, and advance their careers. Considering the ongoing changes in both the field of education and the field of technologies, it is important to explore the current needs for improving digital competences of educators including students in the field of education, to provide them with the necessary support. This study aims to develop recommendations for improving digital competence of educators by combining students’ self-assessment through surveys with stakeholder opinions concerning digital competence development of educators ascertained in a focus group discussion. Results of the research reveal that education students do not have a statistically different self-assessment of their digital competences than students from other study fields. And although students evaluate their digital competences as high, stakeholders point out that there is a lack of digital competences to carry out technology-enhanced learning and a negative attitude towards digitalization of education among all educators’ age groups. Improving the availability of digital resources and technological support as well as incorporating organisational level strategies that require application and improvement of digital competence could remedy the issue.

The ongoing process of digitalisation requires teachers not only to use technologies in their lessons to provide high quality opportunities for learning, but also to learn through this format themselves. In recent years, a new competence-based curriculum has been implemented in Latvia, introducing new content and paying attention to self-regulated learning (SRL) as one of the transversal skills. This requires appropriate teacher professional development (TPD) and the implementation of various digital solutions in teaching and learning, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the benefits of online learning and the importance of SRL skills for ensuring sustainable lifelong learning, an online TPD course was conducted to enhance teachers’ knowledge of SRL and self-efficacy in developing students’ SRL skills. The course was attended by 126 teachers of grades 7–12. The research analyses teachers’ self-evaluation of the impact of the online TPD course on their knowledge and skills in developing students’ SRL skills, and data prove that both teachers’ theoretical understanding and competence in developing students’ SRL skills can be significantly improved through this format of TPD.

The gap between technological progress and education is one of the international issues that needs to be addressed. Further education of educators is considered one of the best solutions [1]. Nevertheless, schools struggle with the requirements set by national and international authorities, lacking guidance and support [2, 3, 4]. This research aims to identify the primary challenges and opportunities for implementing the use of digital solutions in learning and teaching. The research questions are as follows: (1) What are the primary challenges for educators when implementing digital solutions in learning and teaching? and (2) What are the key opportunities for educators when implementing digital solutions in learning and teaching? This study examines the reflections and evaluations of educators’ learning experiences in a two-year national-level further education programme aimed at enhancing and advancing their pedagogical digital competence. Throughout the course, educators regularly filled out surveys reflecting on the quality of collaboration in their support groups, their progress towards their professional development goals, their main challenges, and their greatest successes in learning and implementing digital solutions in practice. The study analysed 8,636 responses from educators using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data analysis was used for the Likert scale questions, while deductive and inductive qualitative analysis was used for the open-ended questions. The results show that many of the factors’ educators mentioned as successes in their learning experience were also mentioned as significant challenges, such as learning to use new digital solutions, applying digital solutions in their work, collaborating with colleagues to learn and implement new digital solutions, and effectively managing time to achieve set goals. Educators need dedicated time to experiment with digital solutions, engage in practical and peer-oriented learning approaches, develop a shared vision, foster collaboration, and receive support to enhance their competence and confidence in utilising digital solutions.

In the 21st century, characterized by the continual evolution of education and new educational needs being raised and demanded, teachers’ professional competence encounters a series of challenges. In the context of Latvian education, it is highly significant to enhance the professional competence of future teachers and adapt it according to real-world challenges and opportunities. The professional competence of future teachers encounters challenges ranging from adapting to technological advancements to fostering an inclusive learning environment for diverse groups of students. In this research mixed method approach is applied, quantitative data from the self-evaluation instrument developed through the project “Development and Implementation of the Education Quality Monitoring System” (2nd round) and qualitative data from focus group discussions with education stakeholders are employed to analyze the challenges and opportunities for the development of future teachers’ professional competence. Based on the analysis, challenges for the enhancement of future teachers’ professional competence were identified at both institutional and individual levels among those strengthening schools as learning organizations and fostering open mindset toward change. By shedding light on these challenges and opportunities, this study contributes to the broader discourse on teachers’ preparation and continuous development, ensuring their readiness to navigate the multifaceted landscape of modern education effectively.

Information about the paper titled "SELF-EVALUATION INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING EDUCATORS’ PEDAGOGICAL DIGITAL COMPETENCE" at IATED Digital Library

Online education has become increasingly important in recent years. With the development of technology more pedagogical methods can be applied online, thus increasing the diversity of learning experiences for learners and teaching opportunities for educators. Considering the benefits of online education such as accessibility, convenience, the possibility of differentiation and personalization, it is important to evaluate the feasibility of wider implementation of this learning modality. This is especially significant in adult education, as adult learners are self-motivated and potentially have developed self-directed learning competence – both essential for successful learning online. However, adults often experience time-related constraints so online may be the only learning modality available for some of them. There are ongoing and extensive discussions on the benefits and drawbacks of face-to-face and online learning. This paper aims to analyze the relationship between a course modality and knowledge retention as one of the important aspects of learning effectiveness. The data is gathered from two demographically similar cohorts of adult students who took an English language course of the same volume and content either online or face-to-face. The results show no statistically significant difference in knowledge retention between these modalities. However, there is an indication of better knowledge retention in writing after an online course.