Abstract:

The demands of today's environment, especially in the aggravated conditions of global insecurity, highlight the importance of early career guidance and the formation of a lifelong development mindset, especially in the face of the disappearance, emergence and changes in occupations, and the rapid intrusion of AI into all fields. All this is happening very quickly and raises issues that need to be addressed. One of them is the growing recognition of the mismatch between labour market needs and the skills possessed by people in all occupations and age groups. This is particularly evident in relation to digital skills and competences. Naturally, the focus is mainly on educators - school and university teachers - whose role and example are undoubtedly at the heart of developing general and pedagogical digital competences. Therefore, the article aims to examine the development of pre-service primary teachers’ digital competences focusing on several research questions:
1) Are digital competences included in their curricula?
2) Тo what extent and how do the university teachers integrate the teaching of digital competences in their practice?
3) What is the level of pedagogical digital competences of university teachers?

The answers to these questions were sought through a study with a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected through a self-assessment survey of digital competences among university teachers. Qualitative methods included semi-structured interviews with university teachers, content analysis of relevant curricula and observations of university teachers' practice. Digital competences were explored through the lens of Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp) and European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigComp Edu). The participants in the study were twenty-five university teachers from Sofia University (Bulgaria). To ensure the representativeness of the data obtained, the study included teachers from pedagogical disciplines, psychological disciplines, methodological and specialised disciplines, ICT disciplines, and teaching practicum which are compulsory for acquisition of a professional qualification as a (primary) teacher in Bulgaria. The analysis of the results demonstrated that there are some discrepancies between the university teachers' self-assessment, their real teaching practices regarding digital competences and their curricula. In many cases, teachers underestimate themselves although they include examples and tasks to stimulate the development of pre-service teachers' digital competences and especially their digital skills in every practicable topic. Topics such as working with digital information and data as well as digital resources (in terms of DigComp and DigCompEdu) are covered in most courses. Yet, some of the necessary pedagogical digital competences are not well addressed, which according to the university teachers is not possible since pre-service teachers lack some basic digital skills. These findings imply the need for additional research into the practices of in-service teachers and the development of basic digital competencies of students in schools.

Keywords:

Digital competence, pre-service primary teachers, university teachers, DigComp, DigCompEdu.