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.

Competence-based education has been in the spotlight for several years, and it is a topical issue in the European Union as well as marking the reform of the Latvian education system. The Council of the EU considers entrepreneurial competence to be one of the key competences for lifelong learning, and Latvia’s school reforms require teachers to create a study process where students develop entrepreneurial competence. This publication presents research on the self-assessed entrepreneurial competence of teacher education students to find out whether there is any correlation between their assessment of entrepreneurial competence and their readiness/ability to develop this competence in their students, as well as which methods/activities they see as suitable to do so in the classroom and the remote study process. An online survey using the QuestionPro platform was used to collect the data. The questionnaire was fully completed by 157 pedagogy students from various higher education institutions, and it consisted of four question blocks: demographic and socio-cultural questions, entrepreneurial competence, digital competence, and open-ended questions. The data provided by the questionnaire developed for this research showed that students’ self-assessed entrepreneurial competence in a remote study process rated their digital competences highest, followed by their entrepreneurial competences. The results indicate that students are sufficiently prepared to be able to further develop their entrepreneurial competence in the remote study process. From the data, it can be concluded that higher education needs to focus on the development of entrepreneurial competence and should also supplement the methodological knowledge of students to improve their readiness to teach entrepreneurial competences to others. It should also be noted that there is a strong correlation between students’ entrepreneurial competence and their readiness to teach entrepreneurial competences to others. An online survey using the QuestionPro platform was used to collect the data. The questionnaire was fully completed by 157 pedagogy students from various higher education institutions, and it consisted of four question blocks: demographic and socio-cultural questions, entrepreneurial competence, digital competence, and open-ended questions.

When examining the crucial role of civic competence in fostering sustainable societies, economies, and ecosystems, its significance for cultivating responsible and engaged citizens in our ever more interconnected global landscape must be recognized. Notably, education influences the development of civic competence throughout the learning experience at all levels of education. This research aims to explore the evolution of students’ self-assessment in terms of civic competence and its three subcompetences. The objective is to comprehend the present status of students’ self-assessments and explore their potential impact on the formation of a sustainable society. Data were collected for this study using an assessment tool elaborated in the ESF project “Development and Implementation of the Education Quality Monitoring System” for students’ generic competences. The tool, presented in a digital form using the QuestionPro platform, measures six generic competences, including civic competence. A total of 1166 bachelor’s degree students and 354 master’s degree students participated in this study, representing 22 Latvian higher education institutions. This study’s findings indicate that civic competence in the sample is considerably lower than the other generic competences measured, with a greater dispersion of results. The results also highlight specific areas within universities that require improvement during the learning process to cultivate individuals who are sustainable and socially responsible members of society.

When examining the crucial role of civic competence in fostering sustainable societies, economies, and ecosystems, its significance for cultivating responsible and engaged citizens in our ever more interconnected global landscape must be recognized. Notably, education influences the development of civic competence throughout the learning experience at all levels of education. This research aims to explore the evolution of students’ self-assessment in terms of civic competence and its three sub-competences. The objective is to comprehend the present status of students’ self-assessments and explore their potential impact on the formation of a sustainable society. Data were collected for this study using an assessment tool elaborated in the ESF project “Development and Implementation of the Education Quality Monitoring System” for students’ generic competences. The tool, presented in a digital form using the QuestionPro platform, measures six generic competences, including civic competence. A total of 1,166 bachelor students and 354 Master’s students participated in the study, representing 22 Latvian higher education institutions. The study’s findings indicate that civic competence in the sample is considerably lower than the other generic competences measured, with a greater dispersion of results. The results also highlight specific areas within universities that require improvement during the learning process to cultivate individuals who are sustainable and socially responsible members of society.