Evaluation of Pre-service Teachers’ Digital Competence in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Digital technology can potentially improve the quality of education in rural communities by creating conducive conditions for collaboration among learners, providing interactive learning tools and offering opportunities for personalised learning experiences. The pre-service teachers are a critical human resource in improving the quality of education. Therefore, this study investigated the perceptions of pre-service teachers’ technical, pedagogical, attitudinal and ethical digital competence and their readiness to use digital technologies to enhance their teaching practices in Limpopo Province in South Africa. The theoretical framework that guided the study was the Pedagogical, Ethical, Attitudinal and Technical model (PEAT). This descriptive study used a quantitative approach by employing a cross-sectional survey design. A conveniently selected sample of 123 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The research instrument used to collect data was a Questionnaire of Pre-service Teachers’ Digital Competence. The quantitative data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study's findings were that preservice teachers had positive attitudes towards digital technologies, perceived themselves as having high technical digital competence and perceived ICT use in school as contributing positively to learning. They had lower perceptions regarding their competences in using specific digital technologies in teaching and their knowledge of ethical issues. They had the lowest perceptions in the university's role in preparing them for integrating digital technologies into teaching. These findings underscore the necessity of teacher educators to explore new strategies to enhance student teachers' digital competences.

Keywords: Digital technology; digital competence; PEAT model; pre-service teachers; technology integration in teaching

References

Aithal, A., & Aithal, P. (2020). Development and validation of survey questionnaire experimental data–a systematical review-based statistical approach. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences (IJMTS), 5(2), 233-251. https://doi.org/10.47992/ijmts.2581.6012.0116

Alnasib, B. N. (2023). Digital competencies: Are pre-service teachers qualified for digital education? International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 11(1), 96-114. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.2842

Birkollu, S. S., Yucesoy, Y., Baglama, B., & Kanbul, S. (2017). Investigating the attitudes of pre-service teachers towards technology based on various variables. TEM Journal, 6(3), 578-583. http://doi.org/10.18421/TEM63-20

Chigona, A. (2015). Pedagogical shift in the twenty-first century: preparing teachers to teach with new technologies. Africa Education Review, 12(3), 478–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2015.1110912

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research methods in education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203224342

Department of Basic Education. (2019). Professional development framework for digital learning. Pretoria https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Publications/Digital%20Learning%20Framework.pdf?ver=2018-07-09-101748-953

DiCTE. (2019). Pedagogical, ethical, attitudinal, and technical dimensions of digital competence in teacher education (PEAT). https://dicte.oslomet.no/dicte

Duncan-Howell, J. (2012). Digital mismatch: Expectations and realities of digital competency amongst pre-service education students. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(5). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.819

Engen, B. K., Giaever, T., Gudmundsdottir, G. B., Hatlevik, O., Mifsud, L., & Tomte, K. (2014, March). Digital natives: Digitally competent?. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2110-2116). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/147293/

Ferrari, A. (2012). Digital competence in practice: An analysis of frameworks. Publications Office of the European Union Luxembourg. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2791/82116

Giæver, T. H., Mifsud, L., Camilleri, P., Colomer, J. C., Engen, B. K., Gudmundsdottir, G. B., Hatlevik, O., Hernandes, H., Insa, J., & McDonagh, A. (2020). DiCTE Questionnaire Report. https://dicte.oslomet.no/wp-content/uploads/sites/1188/2022/06/Questionnaire-for-measuring-digital-competence.pdf

Gudmundsdottir, G., Rohatgi, A., Giæver, T., Mifsud, L., Camilleri, P., Colomer, J. C., Ketil Engen, B., Hatlevik, O. E., Hernandez Gassó, H., & Insa, J. R. (2021). Sharing Good Practices across Europe When Developing ICT in Teacher Education (DICTE). https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/88279

Gudmundsdottir, G. B., & Hatlevik, O. E. (2018). Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: Implications for teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 214-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1416085

Howie, S. J., Muller, A., & Paterson, A. (2005). Information and communication technologies in South African secondary schools. HSRC Press. https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/

Huda, I., Yulisman, H., Nurina, C. I. E., Erni, F., & Abdullah, D. (2018). Investigating pre-service teachers about their competencies, experiences, and attitudes towards technology integration. Journal of Physics: Conference Series. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1114/1/012033

Jita, T. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ competence to teach science through information and communication technologies in South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 34(3), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593x/pie.v34i3.2

Kiru, E., & Abuya, B. (2023). Educational technology: The ethical and sociological imperative for equity and inclusion. In P. Escudeiro, N. Escudeiro, & O. Bernardes (Eds.), Handbook of research on advancing equity and inclusion through educational technology. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-6868-5.ch004

López-Meneses, E., Sirignano, F. M., Vázquez-Cano, E., & Ramírez-Hurtado, J. M. (2020). University students’ digital competence in three areas of the DigCom 2.1 model: A comparative study at three european universities. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(3), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.5583

McDonagh, A., Camilleri, P., Engen, B. K., & McGarr, O. (2021). Introducing the PEAT Model to frame professional digital competence in teacher education.  Nordic Journal of Comparative Education, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.4226

McGarr, O., & McDonagh, A. (2019). Digital Competence in Teacher Education. Output 1 of the Erasmus+ funded Developing Student Teachers’ Digital Competence (DICTE) project, 40. https://dicte.oslomet.no/

Nandipha, N., Rankhumise, M., & Sedumedi, T. (2023). Views and Experiences of Pre-Service Science Teachers on the Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Electric Concepts. Unnes Science Education Journal, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.15294/usej.v12i1.67139

Pimentel, J. L., & Pimentel, J. (2019). Some Biases in Likert Scaling Usage and its Correction. International Journal of Science: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR), 45(1), 183-191. https://gssrr.org/index.php/JournalOfBasicAndApplied/article/view/9874/4329

Porln, I. G., & Snchez, J. S. (2016). Evaluation and development of digital competence in future primary school teachers at the University of Murcia. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research (NAER Journal), 5(1), 51-56. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2016.1.152

Sánchez-Caballé, A., Gisbert Cervera, M., & Esteve-Mon, F. M. (2020). The digital competence of university students: A systematic literature review. Aloma, 38(1), 63-74. https://doi.org/10.51698/aloma.2020.38.1.63-74

Scherer, R., Tondeur, J., Siddiq, F., & Baran, E. (2018). The importance of attitudes toward technology for pre-service teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge: comparing structural equation modeling approaches. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 67-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.003

Singh, M. N. (2021). Inroad of digital technology in education: Age of digital classroom. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631120980272

Tomczyk, Ł. (2021). Declared and real level of digital skills of future teaching staff. Education Sciences, 11(10), 619. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11100619

Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. John Wiley & Sons.

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2011). UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. UNESCO and Microsoft. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000213475/PDF/213475eng.pdf.multi

Venketsamy, R., & Zijing, H. (2022). Exploring challenges experienced by foundation phase teachers in using technology for teaching and learning: A South African case study. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 10(2), 221-238. https://doi.org/10.17478/jegys.1085660