Abstract:

The sudden suspension of face-to-face teaching activities in schools of all levels, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic situation, provided for the transition of 1.6 billion students to distance learning (UNESCO, 2020a; 2020b; UNICEF, 2020). This scenario, characterized by the rapid digitalization of educational practices, has intensified the debate about digital competence’s promotion. The digital competence is important for students’ active citizenship (Carretero et al., 2017), while it’s indispensable for teachers to offer meaningful (Ausubel, 1978) and personalized learning (Koehler & Mishra, 2009).

With the current health emergency, digital competence has been confirmed as an essential requirement of the teacher’s professional profile. It doesn’t just refer to the techniques and/or technological practices (cutting, pasting, uploading videos, etc.) typical of digital natives (Prensky, 2001), but to "the confident and critical use of Information Society Technology (IST) for work, leisure and communication"(EU, 2006, p.16). Based on this definition and that of 2018 (EU, 2018), the European Competence Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) formulates "digital pedagogical competence" (Bocconi et al., 2018). It indicates the ability to plan and implement a teaching process using digital technologies coherently.

Being widely recognized the pedagogical relevance of digital competence’s development of and the use of ICT in training contexts (Calvani, Fini & Ranieri, 2009), in 2018, the DigCompEdu proposes DigCompEdu Check-In self-reflection questionnaire, developed and validated by the European Commission. Its main objective is to encourage educators to reflect on some key concepts. First among all, the use of digital technologies in education to improve and innovate educational practice (DigCompEdu, 2010-2017).

The questionnaire is aimed at educators of all levels of education and training (formal and non-formal). It details 22 competences organized in 6 thematic areas and divided into six mastery levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2). The tool consists of 22 questions, and we provide to them detailed feedback and useful suggestions to orient the teacher/ trainer’s professional development towards innovative teaching. We also derive useful data for further research.

Based on these considerations, in 2021, we started quantitative research to investigate digital competence in future primary education teachers. The target population is composed by 223 students attending the fourth year of the Primary Education Science degree course at the University of Salerno. Through the accidental sampling technique, we selected 153 students attending the Educational Technology Laboratory. The self-reflection questionnaire was proposed to them, and we collected 79 voluntary responses.

This contribution presents a first part of the statistical data analysis, still in progress, with particular attention to three questions: Do future primary education teachers invest in digital competence’s development? Do they plan and implement the use of digital technologies into practices? Do they use digital technologies to offer personalized learning opportunities?

The data analysis provides a general description about the activities’ promotion for digital competence’s development by future primary education teachers, because it’s considered necessary to invest in university education and not only in continuous and professional training.

Keywords:

Digital competence, teacher, self-reflection questionnaire, DIGCOMPEDU, technological innovation.