Leading the development of teachers’ digital competence : case TAKK Tampere Adult Education Centre
Oksanen, Tuuli (2020)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020052513434
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020052513434
Tiivistelmä
The development of teachers’ digital competence is a strategically important area in an educational organization. The world around us is changing rapidly and maintaining competitiveness as well as adapting to change require continuous development of competence. In order to execute a concrete strategy of developing teachers’ digital competence, it is essential to first analyze the current state of the organization’s digital capacity, including teachers’ digital competence.
The purpose of this thesis is to enhance the continuous professional development of teachers’ digital competence by analyzing the effects of leadership on it and by exploring the role of management in supporting the teachers’ digital competence development. This thesis is a case study focusing on a development project of Tampere Adult Education Centre called Digitalized Learning Path for Educational Organizations. The project objectives are to create an organizational digital strategy and a model for teachers’ digital competence development. The theoretical framework used in this development is the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The author conducted this research while also being the coordinator of the case project.
This was a qualitative study. Document analysis and service design were used as research methods. The research included a service design workshop for TAKK management on leadership of competence development, analyzing teachers’ experiences on their development of individual learning paths, as well as analyzing the relevant responses to a self-reflection survey on digital competences, including the views of both management and teachers.
The main findings indicate that leadership influences teachers’ level of motivation and commitment to the development of their digital competence. Setting clear objectives and understanding their benefits together with effective communication helps leaders minimize change resistance and encourage continuous professional development. In this, leaders’ own attitude and behaviour play an important role. Based on the results of this thesis, concrete steps for leading the development of teachers’ digital competence include creating and updating a digital strategy with clear objectives, enhancing communication and actively sup-porting the implementation of teachers’ competence development activities.
Further research recommendations include investigating the benefits of learning analytics also on teacher’ competence development.
The purpose of this thesis is to enhance the continuous professional development of teachers’ digital competence by analyzing the effects of leadership on it and by exploring the role of management in supporting the teachers’ digital competence development. This thesis is a case study focusing on a development project of Tampere Adult Education Centre called Digitalized Learning Path for Educational Organizations. The project objectives are to create an organizational digital strategy and a model for teachers’ digital competence development. The theoretical framework used in this development is the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The author conducted this research while also being the coordinator of the case project.
This was a qualitative study. Document analysis and service design were used as research methods. The research included a service design workshop for TAKK management on leadership of competence development, analyzing teachers’ experiences on their development of individual learning paths, as well as analyzing the relevant responses to a self-reflection survey on digital competences, including the views of both management and teachers.
The main findings indicate that leadership influences teachers’ level of motivation and commitment to the development of their digital competence. Setting clear objectives and understanding their benefits together with effective communication helps leaders minimize change resistance and encourage continuous professional development. In this, leaders’ own attitude and behaviour play an important role. Based on the results of this thesis, concrete steps for leading the development of teachers’ digital competence include creating and updating a digital strategy with clear objectives, enhancing communication and actively sup-porting the implementation of teachers’ competence development activities.
Further research recommendations include investigating the benefits of learning analytics also on teacher’ competence development.