Abstract:

Teachers in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) need the transformative power to achieve innovative teaching. If teachers aim not only to develop students’ foundational skills but also to foster their higher-order competencies, they must learn and continue to build their professional capital. This study adopts the theoretical framework of professional capital theory, which conceptualizes teacher professional capital as a function of teacher human capital, social capital, and decisional capital. The framework emphasises the importance of focusing on the knowledge foundation of the teaching profession, the opportunities for sustained support and collaboration, and the professional agency of teachers. In the context of education’s digital transformation, teachers are expected to develop their professional capital to enable effective teaching by transferring new practices into the classroom.

This study aims to identify the key factors that influence teachers’ intentions to transfer new practices in the classroom. Training transfer refers to the ability to extend and apply what has been learned in one context to new contexts, tasks, or situations. In the case of in-service informatics teacher training, transfer occurs when learning acquired in an online teacher professional development program changes classroom practice at school. The Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) can be used to assess perceptions of training transfer of professional development.

The LTSI model has been empirically validated using data collected from 279 in-service informatics teachers participating in the professional development program (30.9% of all informatics teachers teaching in grades 5–12 in Lithuania). The structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse causal relationships between factors influencing teachers’ intention to transfer new practices in the classroom. The qualitative research method (semi-structured interviews with 30 teachers) was used to provide a deeper understanding of key elements of professional capital development which foster the transfer of new practices in the classroom. This mixed approach study offers insights for designing more effective online training programs by identifying the key aspects which foster the transfer of new practices into the classroom.

Acknowledgment:
This research No P-EDU-23-21 is co-funded by the European Union (the project „Breakthrough in Educational Research“ No 10-044-P-0001) under the 1st April 2025 Agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania RCOL) and the 15th April 2025 Joint Activity Agreement with Vilnius University.

Keywords:

Professional development, professional capital, learning transfer, motivation to transfer, LTSI, informatics teachers, in-service teachers.