Siri Sollied Madsen

We have investigated the dynamics of Norwegian teacher educators’ professional digital competence at two teacher education institutions, using a mixed methods approach (online survey and follow-up interviews). Teacher educators use digital technology to enhance the pedagogical quality of learning activities, strengthening pre-service teachers’ professional digital competence, and efficiency. Teacher educators showed positive attitudes towards pedagogical use of digital technology and have high self-reported knowledge and skills regarding the use of digital technology. However, our findings indicate that there is a need to strengthen teacher educators’ professional digital competence regarding teaching about digital technology, rather than focusing on the use of digital technology. The quantitative survey data show that “knowledge & skills” is a significant predictor of teacher educators’ use of digital technology, and the qualitative interview data are used to explain why the teacher educators’ attitudes only serve as a predictor of digital technology use at one of the two teacher educator institutions in our study. Here, our study reveals a tension in the teacher educators’ agency, as the structure of study programs can alter their autonomy towards digital technology use, and we discuss this in relation to teacher educators’ application of professional digital competence within online education.

A global discourse surrounding physical education (PE) is shifting towards a stronger emphasis on inclusive practises, but research shows that some students still find the subject problematic. This study explores the relationship between students’ dread of physical education (PE) and overall school satisfaction among sixth graders in Tromsø Municipality, Norway, and identifies factors that might explain this relationship. Data were collected from 338 sixth-grade students, with an 85.5% response rate. In this study, we investigate through quantitative analyses whether there is a correlation between students dreading PE and their overall school satisfaction. We find a relatively low correlation between these factors, indicating that dreading PE may be related to factors beyond general school satisfaction. Three significant predictors of students’ apprehension towards PE were identified: self-confidence and self-esteem, discomfort in changing into gym clothes in communal locker rooms, and reluctance to collaborate indiscriminately with peers. These factors could indicate a performance-oriented climate, which contrasts with the mastery-oriented approach emphasised in the national curriculum. The findings highlight the need for PE to be taught in a way that aligns more closely with the curriculum. This study suggests that addressing these issues requires educators who are formally trained to foster a supportive and motivating environment and calls for further research into the translation of curriculum objectives into teaching practises.

Institutions offering teacher education have generally been criticized for giving pre-service teachers an insufficient education regarding the pedagogical use of digital technology. In this study we investigate the dynamics of professional digital competence (PDC) among teacher educators (in primary, secondary and early childhood teacher education programmes) in Norway, Slovenia, and Portugal. A survey was constructed based on the understanding of digital competence consisting of an individual’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Three constructed variables from the survey (Attitudes, Knowledge and skills, and Use, regarding digital technology in higher education) were analysed, and we found small differences in mean scores between the three countries. However, a pathway analysis via regressions revealed markedly different dynamics of PDC, and we discuss implications of our findings on teacher educators’ use of digital technology.

I studien undersøker vi hvordan grensekryssingen mellom arbeidet og styrerutdanningen bidrar til kvalifisering, sosialisering og subjektivering i rollen som leder i barnehager. Det teoretiske rammeverket er Biestas (2014) forståelse av kvalifisering, sosialisering og subjektivering som utdanningers tre funksjonsområder. Studien bygger på kvalitative data og presenterer analyse av eksamensoppgaver fra to kull ved UiT Norges arktiske universitet (n = 38). Resultatene viser at deltakerne ble mer enn faglig kvalifisert; de ble sosialisert inn i en lederrolle i studiet som ble overført til praksis i barnehagen. Deltakerne utviklet subjektivering i form av autonomi som leder overfor de øvrige ansatte og eiernivået, og de følte seg mer rustet til å håndtere spenninger, utfordringer og oppgaver. Studien viser betydningen av at utdanninger fremmer sosialiseringog subjektivering gjennom en kombinasjon av faglig påfyll, veksling mellom kontekster og diskusjoner samt arbeidsplassbasert gjennomføring av mellomarbeid. ENGLISH ABSTRACT National education for leaders in early childhood education – an arena for qualification, socialization, and subjectification The study examines in which way border crossing between work and education contributes to qualification, socialization, and subjectification for leaders in early childhood education. The theoretical framework used in this article is Biesta’s (2014) understanding of qualification, socialization, and subjectivation as education’s three main domains. The study is based on qualitative data and presents an analysis of exam papers from two cohorts at UiT The Arctic University of Norway (n = 38). The results showed that the participants became more than professionally qualified, they were socialized into a role as a leader during the program. The participants developed subjectification in the form of autonomy as leaders in relation to the other employees and they felt more equipped to handle tensions, challenges and tasks associated with their position. The study shows the importance of education promoting socialization and subjectification through the combination of lectures, the crossing between contexts, discussions among peers, as well as workplace-based implementation of intermediate work.

Digital technology has become an important part of society and deserves attention and in-depth research, which is still lacking. The study presented in this paper includes international perspectives from six countries and examines which factors influence the use of digital technologies in future pedagogical work in primary schools. Specifically, we investigated how pre-service teachers assess their attitudes, knowledge, and skills towards digital technology, and we determined these factors’ role in the pre-service teachers’ future use of digital technologies in pedagogical work. For the purpose of the research, an online questionnaire was used, which contained open-ended questions, optional questions, and five-point Likert-type scales, and Spearman correlation and Stepwise linear regression statistical methods were used in the data analysis. The sample consisted of 573 full-time and part-time undergraduate pre-service teachers from the Faculties of Education’s higher professional programmes in Norway, Slovenia, Portugal, Turkey, Ukraine, and Jordan. Data were collected between June 2021 and May 2022 and processed using IBM SPSS. The present research showed the significant importance of knowledge and skills about digital technologies and professional attitude towards digital tool factors for pre-service teachers’ future professional use of digital technologies. The demonstrated intention of the future use of digital technologies showed the readiness of pre-service teachers regarding the inclusion of digital technologies in pedagogical work. Opportunities for further research are in the implementation of focus groups after surveying pre-service teachers, as well as regular measurements and the inclusion of other important constructs in the regression model.

Researchers and society in general seem to be conflicted regarding the use of digital technology in early childhood education (ECE). Some are focusing on the positive aspects of using digital technology, while others are critical and position it as an enemy of early childhood practice. It has been argued that digital technology is not appropriate for young children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Nevertheless, supporting and developing young children’s beginning digital competence is implemented in curricula and teacher education globally. The need for teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC) is increasing according to the development and increased use of digital technology in society as a whole, including in the field of education. The field of research has, to a large extent, been focused on primary and secondary education, and there is a lack of research on PDC in ECE. To gain insight into the dynamics of PDC in ECE, we investigated a range of ECE contexts by including different international perspectives in a comparative study of pre-service early childhood (EC) teachers transitioning to being in-service teachers. The survey was conducted in eight different nations (Norway, Slovenia, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, England and Jordan) and resulted in 772 responses from pre-service teachers in the last year of their education. The paper discusses these international perspectives, considering the differences found between nations. It also investigates the dynamics of PDC, understood in this article as comprising attitudes, skills and knowledge. Following this, it also investigates how these dynamics are affecting the pre-service teachers’ expectations related to their future application of digital tools as teachers to be. The results indicate large differences between nations for both single items and multi-item scales. At the same time, the dynamics of digital practices across nations reveal that attitudes, digital skills and knowledge are statistically strong predictors of pre-service teachers’ future use of educational digital technology (EDT). This indicates both similarities and differences across nations and could serve as insight regarding the development of teacher programmes and the importance of including all aspects when developing pre-service teachers’ PDC. This article, due to its limitation, will not elaborate in depth on contextual differences, and further qualitative research is needed to understand the complexity related to educational culture and practice.

This article presents a study of an educational experiment conducted at the early childhood education programme at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway. As COVID-19 made social distancing an issue, the traditional practicum in kindergartens was moved to online platforms. Constructive alignment was used as an analytical framework to investigate the possibilities and limitations of student teachers’ learning outcomes in a collaborative online learning activity. Overall, 8 out of 9 practicum teachers found the online practicum form a better alternative than supplying the student teacher with a written assignment, and 72.7% of the student teachers agreed or somewhat agreed with facilitating learning outcomes from the online practicum regardless of social distancing. The need for professional digital competence is central, as digital technology is not simply part of pedagogical practices but is becoming an integrated part of communicating and collaborating with colleagues and parents. This study broadens the understanding of how collaborative online learning can facilitate unintended valuable learning outcomes and critically debates the limitations related to emphasising a too-strong focus on intended learning outcomes as a premise for constructive alignment in education.