Editorial Introduction - Digital Competence in Teacher Education across Europe

Abstract

The rationale for this special issue is based on the increasing and now almost ubiquitous use of technology in teaching and learning. As the exposure to technology in the classroom increases, so too will the requirement for all teachers to be digitally competent in its use for classroom teaching and learning. This special issue aims to evaluate student teachers' attitudes towards ICT, their understanding of digital competence, and how teacher training institutions prepare them to work in an ever-changing and evolving digital classroom. This special issue will also examine “digital distractions” viewed as potential downsides in the digitisation of classrooms. Furthermore, this publication will propose a new digital competence framework that includes Pedagogical, Ethical, Attitudinal, and Technological (PEAT) elements. It will discuss the rationale for its creation and the affordances that this framework offers. The origins for this publication grew from an Erasmus+ funded project, Developing ICT in Teacher Education (DiCTE) 2017-2020. The project aimed to explore and investigate how five teacher education institutions in four European countries instill and build the necessary skills that allow student teachers to develop into professionally competent users of digital technology in the