The Reconfiguration of Teacher Professional Development Through Technology: Implications for Digital Competence

1. Introduction and Background

The acceleration of digitalisation processes in education has brought teachers’ digital competence to the forefront of international academic and political debate. More than a technological process, it implies transformations in pedagogical practices, school organisation, institutional dynamics, and the ways in which teachers and students participate in digital culture. In this scenario, teachers’ digital competence is undoubtedly a key component of educational quality and an indicator of the capacity of educational systems to respond to present and future challenges.

Over the past two decades, international research has made notable progress in conceptualising teachers’ digital competence, establishing reference frameworks such as TPACK and DigCompEdu, which have contributed to defining its dimensions. However, the literature reveals persistent gaps between theoretical models, teacher training policies and the reality of schools (Cid-Martínez et al., 2025; Montenegro-Rueda & Fernández-Batanero, 2022). Digitalisation is advancing rapidly, but teachers’ professional development and institutional conditions do not always keep pace.

This Special Issue, entitled Digital Competence of Educators: Opportunities and Challenges, aims to offer a broad, critical, and updated perspective on this issue. The contributions analyse teachers’ digital competence from multiple angles, level diagnoses, factors influencing its development, structural barriers, and emerging opportunities, as well as studies on the ethical, inclusive and pedagogically grounded integration of technology in different educational levels and sociocultural contexts. Together, they articulate a body of work that enables an understanding of digital competence as a systemic, cross-cutting phenomenon closely linked to educational equity.

2. Transformations of the Teaching Profession in the Digital Ecosystem

Education is undergoing a period of redefinition. The incorporation of digital technologies, the expansion of hybrid learning, the rise of virtual platforms, and the rapid growth of tools based on artificial intelligence are altering teachers’ roles, functions, and expectations. As noted by authors such as Afdal (2025) and Ibrahim (2025), teachers are no longer mere transmitters of knowledge but designers of learning experiences, mediators of information, data managers, facilitators of collaborative processes and promoters of digital citizenship.

Afdal (2025) stresses that digital transformation requires the development of competences that integrate technical, pedagogical and social dimensions and do not focus solely on the instrumental handling of tools, but on pedagogically and socially responsible uses. Similarly, studies such as those by Jiménez-Sierra et al. (2024) and Purnomo (2024) highlight that the educational value of technology depends on teachers’ ability to integrate it critically into curriculum design.

Nevertheless, evidence suggests that many teachers experience tensions when facing these expectations. International studies such as those by Babushko et al. (2022) and Rustandi et al. (2024) show that workload overload, increased screen time, and a lack of direct interaction in digital environments generate emotional tensions, fatigue, and resistance to change. This confirms that the development of digital competence must be understood as a complex process involving organisational, affective and ethical dimensions.

3. Current State: Progress and Inequalities

Recent studies show a heterogeneous reality regarding teachers’ digital competence. According to Althubyani (2024), in a large-scale study, the average level of digital competence was moderate (58.4%), with important gaps linked to cognitive, institutional, and sociocultural factors. In more specific contexts such as Spain, Cid-Martínez et al. (2025) identify similar patterns, highlighting medium competence levels across most DigCompEdu indicators, particularly in areas such as digital assessment and resource creation. This heterogeneity concurs with reviews such as that by Más-García et al. (2022), which reveal a fragmented reality in terms of teachers’ digital competence.

Other authors argue that digital competence depends largely on organisational conditions and available infrastructure. Ibrahim (2025) shows that insufficient infrastructure and a lack of training represent major barriers in Ghana. Similar results are found in Southeast Asian countries, where resource shortages and territorial inequalities persist (Rifqie-Mariana & Nurjanah, 2023).

Along these lines, several authors highlight that inequalities are also related to the quality and continuity of initial and ongoing training. Gabarda-Méndez et al. (2025) emphasise that teachers’ digital competence is strongly conditioned by training opportunities received both during university studies and throughout their professional careers. Likewise, research with pre-service teachers reveals the need to reinforce initial training, despite their generally positive views on the educational use of technology (Hernández-Ramos & Sánchez-Prieto, 2025). This is confirmed in teaching innovation projects, which show that mentoring and collaborative practices strengthen future teachers’ digital competence (Gabarda-Méndez et al., 2023).

Furthermore, Azizah et al. (2024) note that the digital divide affects not only teachers but also students, and that inequalities may widen when educational policies fail to adequately address local needs, such as in rural or disadvantaged areas or in countries with limited investment in educational technology. In this respect, authors such as Vidal-Esteve et al. (2025) have found significant differences in digital competence development depending on educational stage or teaching role, highlighting the need for more context-sensitive policies.

4. Digital Competence and Inclusive Education

Digital competence also plays a key role in inclusive education, as technology can promote accessibility, participation and equity—provided teachers receive appropriate training. Montenegro-Rueda and Fernández-Batanero (2022) find that the digital competence of support staff in inclusive education shows important shortcomings that limit their capacity to use digital tools effectively with students requiring additional support.

Similarly, López-Gómez et al. (2022) show that some tools such as educational video games can enhance attention to diversity when used intentionally and with sound pedagogical grounding. Özer-Şanal (2023) identifies additional challenges for special education teachers in the use of digital assessment tools, such as limited resources, time constraints and poor alignment between digital tools and curriculum components. However, the study also reveals important opportunities, namely, adapted virtual classrooms, digital portfolios, flexible assessment formats and active learning strategies that, when properly implemented, can improve the educational experience of learners with special educational needs.

From a broader perspective, Pardo-Baldoví et al. (2022) suggest that inclusion remains one of the major challenges of the digital school, requiring innovative practices, organisational support, and a profound rethinking of pedagogical approaches.

Inclusive education cannot be understood without an ethical perspective on digital competence. This implies teachers’ ability to recognise biases, critically evaluate tools and ensure the protection of personal data—issues that increasingly appear in the literature and call for new professional development frameworks.

5. Emerging Opportunities: Innovation, AI, and Collaborative Learning

Despite the numerous challenges, research also highlights significant opportunities. Digitalisation has enabled the expansion of learning models that combine active, technology-mediated pedagogies, collaborative environments and adaptive digital resources.

Mubaidilla and Mubaidilla (2025) propose a model based on access, training, practice, reflection and assessment, which structures continuous professional development and helps overcome barriers such as lack of time or gaps in digital skills. According to the authors, microlearning, artificial intelligence and learning networks significantly enhance teachers’ digital and pedagogical competences.

Similarly, Sarva and Puriņa-Biezā (2023) emphasise the importance of time for experimentation and collaborative work among teachers. Learning in community and with institutional support changes teachers’ perceptions of technology and increases their confidence in implementing it.

Authors such as Alé et al. (2025) show that although artificial intelligence still coexists with uncertainty and requires training, teachers display a growing willingness to use AI for pedagogical purposes, provided that ethical guidance and adequate support are in place.

6. Lessons from the Pandemic: Learning and Pending Challenges

Although five years have passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it marked a turning point in teachers’ perceptions of technology. Studies conducted in Switzerland (Amenduni et al., 2022; Bereiter & Sansone, 2022) showed that digital competence significantly shaped teachers’ interpretations of the challenges and opportunities of emergency remote teaching. Those with higher levels of digital competence perceived assessment and self-directed learning as opportunities, while those with lower levels experienced them as burdens.

These difficulties confirmed trends identified in pre-pandemic literature, which pointed to insufficient digital preparation in initial teacher training and the need to reinforce professional development policies (Gabarda-Méndez et al., 2020). They also affected pre-service teachers. Colomo-Magaña et al. (2023) show that pre-service teachers faced the pandemic with unequal levels of digital competence, which influenced their participation in online learning environments and their perceptions of technology-mediated teaching. Although the situation accelerated the acquisition of certain digital skills, it also revealed pre-existing training gaps and the need to strengthen digital training in education programmes.

The pandemic also underscored the need to implement changes in assessment, student empowerment and autonomous learning, highlighting the urgency of robust infrastructures, pedagogical leadership and educational policies capable of responding to unforeseen situations.

As Espinosa-Cevallos (2023) notes, the health crisis created opportunities to foster innovation and accelerate digital adaptation, but it also amplified existing inequalities. In this regard, studies such as Vidal-Esteve et al. (2025) warn that equitable access to digital resources is not guaranteed across territories, and that such inequalities directly affect the quality of educational responses during exceptional circumstances. Consequently, strengthening teachers’ digital competence is a social imperative, including for the appropriate selection and use of available resources.

7. Patents

The set of articles included in this Special Issue demonstrate that teachers’ digital competence must be understood as a situated, contextual and dynamic process, closely linked to continuous professional development and institutional conditions.

Digital competence requires a critical understanding of the pedagogical, social and ethical impact of digital tools: selecting technologies that best meet students’ needs, promoting inclusion through and with technology, and actively participating in professional learning communities, among others. Its development demands coherent policies, stable resources, committed leadership, and school cultures that encourage innovation and collaboration. In this sense, this Special Issue addresses the increasingly complex landscape of teachers’ digital competence, highlighting both persistent challenges and emerging opportunities in diverse educational contexts. Grounded in well-established conceptual frameworks such as TPACK, SAMR, and DigCompEdu, the four contributions collectively offer empirical, conceptual, and synthetic perspectives on how teachers develop, enact, and reflect upon their digital competence in practice. Together, they underscore the need to move beyond instrumental uses of technology toward more integrated, pedagogically meaningful, and ethically informed approaches to digital teaching competence.

From a systemic perspective, Cid-Martínez et al. (2025) provide a systematic review of in-service Spanish teachers’ digital competence through the DigCompEdu framework, revealing consistently low levels across its dimensions and emphasising the urgency of rethinking professional development policies. Complementing this macro-level view, Jiménez-Sierra et al. (2024) present an in-depth case study of elementary teachers in the Colombian Caribbean, showing strong pedagogical and content knowledge but significant gaps in the technological dimensions of TPACK, even after participating in a Lesson Study-based professional development programme. At the classroom level, Shiu (2025) offers a qualitative multi-case study in ESL education, proposing a refined typology of technological tools and pedagogical purposes through the combined lenses of TPACK and SAMR, thus providing practical guidance for teachers struggling with meaningful technology integration. Finally, Alé et al. (2025) extend the discussion to the emerging domain of artificial intelligence in education, examining Chilean teachers’ knowledge and experience with AI through the Intelligent-TPACK framework and highlighting critical shortcomings in integration and ethical awareness. Taken together, these studies illustrate how teachers’ digital competence is shaped by contextual, pedagogical, and technological factors, and they reinforce the need for coherent training models that address not only skills and knowledge, but also ethical responsibility and pedagogical intentionality in digitally enriched educational environments.

Based on the foregoing, it could be concluded that this Issue seeks to contribute to these discussions by offering research that advances the understanding of current challenges and proposes possible pathways towards a more inclusive, ethical and transformative digital education.