A comparison of perceptions of digital competences of Schoolteachers to school leaders in Lebanon

Abstract

The study focused on examining the self-perceived digital competences of Lebanese school teachers and compared their opinions to those of school leaders. The study aimed to investigate whether the digital competence levels of school teachers meet the needs of schools as perceived by school leaders. The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) was used as a framework that proposes a comprehensive set of digital competences specifically designed for educators. The findings revealed that while school teachers excel in handling digital resources, they lack competence in promoting learners' digital literacy and their skills of utilizing digital tools for communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. Additionally, school leaders had a different opinion regarding school teachers' competences, indicating a lack of support for the safe and responsible use of digital tools and managing digital resources. The study used a mixed-method approach and a cross-sectional descriptive design with a survey sample size of 170 in-service teachers and an interview sample of 10 school leaders from a variety of Lebanese schools.

Keywords

• Digital competence
• Digital literacy
• Lebanese education system
• DigCompEdu framework
• Teacher education