Relationship between Teachers’ Digital Competence and Classroom Teaching Practices

Abstract

The growing presence of digital technologies in schools has made teachers’ digital competence a central concern for education systems, yet the extent to which this competence is reflected in everyday classroom teaching remains insufficiently understood. The present study examined the relationship between teachers’ digital competence and their classroom teaching practices among secondary and higher secondary school teachers. A descriptive correlational survey design was adopted, and data were collected from a sample of 120 teachers selected through stratified random sampling from government and private schools. Two self-developed and validated instruments were used: a Teachers’ Digital Competence Scale (25 items, five dimensions) and a Classroom Teaching Practices Scale (20 items, four dimensions). Both instruments showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .907 and .898 respectively). Data were analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlation, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc comparisons, and multiple linear regression. The results showed that teachers possessed a moderate level of digital competence (M = 3.43, SD = 0.51) and a moderately high level of classroom teaching practices (M = 3.57, SD = 0.50). A strong, positive and significant correlation was found between digital competence and classroom teaching practices (r = .676, p < .001). No significant differences were observed by gender or type of school, whereas teaching experience produced significant differences in both digital competence and teaching practices, with less experienced teachers scoring higher. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the five dimensions of digital competence together explained 49.5% of the variance in classroom teaching practices, with digital pedagogy (β = .423) and digital safety and ethics (β = .216) emerging as significant predictors. The study concludes that pedagogically oriented digital competence, rather than technical skill alone, is most closely linked to quality classroom teaching, and it recommends professional development programmes that integrate technology with pedagogy.