Abstract:

In recent years, technological progress has dramatically changed our lives, with artificial intelligence rapidly establishing itself as an indispensable part of modern society. The changes are also reflected in the education system, where technology has become an indispensable part of the everyday learning environment. Innovative learning environments are increasingly being created in which the use of modern technologies such as information and communication technology (ICT) and, more recently, artificial intelligence, is highly valued. Teachers have thus become key players who must master digital skills if they want to successfully accompany these changes and teach in line with the trend of all the changes that education is undergoing. The importance of teachers' digital skills is therefore key to successful teaching in contemporary learning environments.

The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, known as DigComp2.2, provides guidance in this area and is central to the European Union's objectives to strengthen the digital competences of the entire population. It is crucial to examine the level of competence that teachers achieve in educational systems. For this reason, we have carried out research in this area.

The DigComp2.2 framework was used to assess the digital competences of participants in the Slovenian education system. As we were interested in whether the school management pays attention to teachers' needs in this area, we conducted a survey among a sample of 698 participants (33 school leaders and 665 teachers) from Slovenian primary and secondary schools, which examined the digital competences of Slovenian teachers. The school management (principals) assessed the competences of teachers at their school using the DigComp2.2 framework. Teachers also provided a self-assessment based on the same DigiComp2.2 framework. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the Mann-Whitney test. The results showed no statistically significant differences between the school leaders' assessments and the teachers' self-assessments, so it cannot be assumed that there is a gap between the school leaders' assessments and the teachers' self-assessments in the Slovenian education system. Nevertheless, we believe that closer collaboration between school leaders and teachers is necessary, especially in the context of community development. This enables an appropriate link between the expectations of school leaders and the actual digital skills of teachers, which is key to improving education in an age of constant technological change. The paper therefore presents some examples of good practice in cooperation between school management and teachers.

Keywords:

Contemporary education, digital competences, innovative learning environment, DigComp2.2 framework.