Abstract
This article-based PhD study adopts a post-digital perspective, implying that we have progressed beyond the stage of integrating technology and now reside in a digitally infused society. Digital tools have become commonplace and are seamlessly integrated into our everyday lives, school, and work (Jandrić et al., 2018). Teacher educators play a vital role in enabling future teachers to utilise the potential of digital teaching and learning environments while navigating the challenges associated with teaching in digital schools and preparing pupils for future life and work.
This qualitative study explores how teacher educators facilitate the development of student teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC) in Norwegian teacher education and discusses how teacher educators’ professionalism emerges in the post-digital age. It explores policy documents at the institutional level, including programme descriptions, course descriptions, and plans for practicums from six Norwegian teacher education institutions. Furthermore, in-depth interviews were conducted with three teacher educators from each site (18 in total). While the overarching discussion in the extended abstract refers to the theories of professions, particularly occupational and organisational professionalism (Evetts, 2013), the three articles focus on the pillars of professionalism: professional knowledge, agency, and identity.
Collaboration is the key to facilitaton of PDC and occupational professionalism in teacher education. Together, the findings across the three articles underscore the fundamental role of collaboration in PDC facilitation and in developing and negotiating professional knowledge, agency, and identity. Teacher educators’ professionalism emerges in various ways. Those who strongly identify themselves with the role of teachers of teachers, actively engaging in collaboration and negotiating professional knowledge, exhibit a professionalism that can be characterised as occupational. This is particularly evident in their commitment to facilitating students' PDC, viewing it as an inherent part of their role and responsibility. On the other end of the scale are teacher educators who identify themselves as academics or researchers simply working in teacher education. Their professionalism can be characterised as organisational, as they address PDC only in the way they are expected to by institutional policy. Their occupational professionalism may emerge in relation to other professional communities.