DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL COMPETENCES OF PERSPECTIVE PRIMARY-SCHOOL TEACHERS

This paper examines the digital competences of current and perspective primary-school teachers the content that the ICT courses at the Educational faculty of Plovdiv university provide and their potential to develop the digital competences of the students during their studies at the university. In order to analyse the content areas of the ICT courses at the Educational faculty a content analysis was conducted of their thematic content which outlined their main focus and deficiencies. Focus group interviews with 91 primary- school teachers was also conducted which aimed to investigate to what extent digital competences are required in their professional life; which software products and applications are most often used in their work and third, how university courses can adapt in order to enhance students' digital competences. The findings from this research will provide valuable insights into how universities can better prepare student teachers for the ever-evolving world of education technology.